Nancy Dahlstrom was a rare candidate for politics. In 2002 she challenged then-Rep. Lisa Murkowski for a state House seat encompassing part of Eagle River and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Dahlstrom, a Republican ran to Murkowski’s right and lost.
One year later, Gov. Frank Murkowski named Lisa Murkowski, his child, to the U.S. Senate. Dahlstrom was asked to replace her in Juneau. Dahlstrom stated that she has remained in government since then because she loves Alaska, and she wants to make it a better state.
“We all can make a difference. In politics, things don’t always go as we wish. But we can all work together,” she stated in a recent interview.
Dahlstrom has lived a quiet life in the spotlight for most of her 20 years of political service. Before running for Republican Governor, she shuffled through her state House seat and advisor roles before moving on to a commissioner position. Mike Dunleavy’s election ticket. As second in command, she will oversee the state’s election system and she says she is up for the challenge.
Dahlstrom was born into a military family in Baltimore. After graduating high school, Dahlstrom went to Utah for her high school graduation and traveled to Alaska with a friend.
“And we just loved it. “And this has been my home, so I decided to stay,” she stated.
Dahlstrom was involved in numerous utility companies including Chugach Electric and Alaskcom, as well as community councils, before she ran for the state House.
She earned a reputation as a sharp, honest, and willing collaborator over her seven years of service in the legislature.
“Nancy has a deep-seated feeling of public service and she really wants Alaska to be served in a wide way,” stated Beth Kerttula (an ex-Democratic lawmaker from Juneau) who served as Dahlstrom’s deputy.
Kerttula stated that Dahlstrom and she disagreed on social issues but they never stopped working together.
Kerttula stated that while Nancy and I may have disagreed from time to time but you still have an working relationship and, in reality, you have a friendship.
Dahlstrom has held many jobs over the past decade. Dahlstrom was an advisor to the Parnell administration, and also worked in the private sector. She ran for the state House again in 2018, but she did not win the seat. Dunleavy began his first term as governor and asked her to lead the Department of Corrections.
He reached out to her again four years later, asking her to run for lieutenant governor.
It’s not a call. Dahlstrom stated, “I was expecting, you’re aware.”
Kevin Meyer, Dunleavy’s first lieutenant Governor, declared last year that he would not be running for reelection. He said he did not want to have to balance overseeing elections and campaigning.
John Coghill, an ex-Fairbanks legislator, stated that Dahlstrom was a good ideological match to Dunleavy, and well-versed on political issues, even though her name wasn’t widely known.
Coghill stated that she believes she is well-known in her locality. “But, I believe here in the Interior that probably low [name recognition]. Dunleavy’s Interior rating is very high so I believe he was the one they were considering.”
Despite his few appearances on campaign trails, Dunleavy won the election last month — Dahlstrom made even less.
Governors often take the spotlight off lieutenant governors. They play a significant role in Alaska’s state election system. This area of government has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny in recent years as conservatives question the integrity and validity of the elections.
Dahlstrom stated that she has no concerns regarding election integrity at the moment.
She added, “And if there are concerns about the integrity of the organization, I’ll talk about it first.”
In the past year, elections have experienced many changes. This summer and fall saw the state’s first ranked-choice elections. Last week, Gail Fenumiai , the long-serving director of Division of Elections, retired.
Dahlstrom made it clear that she didn’t ask for Fenumiai to resign.
Dahlstrom stated, “I believe that she did an excellent job leading our first rank selection [election]”,
Dahlstrom stated that she is committed to upholding the laws governing the election system. Dahlstrom expressed reservations about the ranked-choice system.
She said, “I still have people who will say to me that they don’t understand it.” “Maybe things are sometimes too easy and we try to make it harder.”
Although the state Senate indicated that it is unlikely to pass a repealing of ranked choice voting it could be put on the ballot.
The Division of Elections currently examines an application to review a ballot initiative that would overturn ranked-choice voting and replace it with the open primary system. Dahlstrom didn’t know about its status until a few days after she started her job. However, it is up to her to decide whether or not it passes and makes it onto the next state ballot.
