By Suzanne Downing – October 25, 202
Former Sen. Cathy Giessel, a Republican trying to win back her seat in the Alaska Senate, is appeared at a shared event with Matt Claman, who is a hardline Democrat running against Republican Sen. Mia Costello. The event is taking place in Girdwood on Monday evening at a private home.
This is not the first betrayal of the Republican Party by Giessel, who is also a campaign co-chair for former Gov. Bill Walker, who is not currently registered to vote in either major party.
Giessel took a hardened position against the Permanent Fund dividend and against Gov. Mike Dunleavy, immediately after he became governor. While Giessel was once pro-Permanent Fund and criticized Walker for stealing Alaskans’ share of oil royalties, she has tacked to the left and says that Walker is the right candidate. She also has come out in opposition to a constitutional convention.
Voters removed Giessel in 2020, replacing her with Sen. Roger Holland in what was Seat N, but is now called Seat E. Giessel was one of seven Republicans who lost primary elections for legislative seats in 2020, as voters were fed up with how the Legislature was handling the Permanent Fund dividend.
Due to the magic of ranked choice voting, however, with Giessel now aligned with the far left, she can collect all the Democrat votes from candidate Roselynn Cacy during the second round of counting, if Holland does not win with a 50+1 majority.