Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Alaska Public Media. She reports from the U.S. Capitol and from Anchorage. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org.
GOP Candidates for U.S. Senate Debate Abortion, Social Issues
The three Republicans vying to run against U.S. Sen. Mark Begich met today in an Eagle River church to debate social issues in a forum sponsored by the Alaska Family Council. All three took anti-abortion, conservative positions but, judging by the applause, this was Joe Miller’s crowd.
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Dan Sullivan Gets Negative On Mead Treadwell
In the campaign for the U.S. Senate, the Republican primary has taken a turn for the negative. Dan Sullivan has sent mailers to voters in Anchorage and Fairbanks bashing rival Republican Mead Treadwell.
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Cameras Catch Rep. Young Twisting Arm in Capitol
Politics often involves a bit of arm-twisting, but footage of Alaska Congressman Don Young today shows him literally twisting the arm of a young man in a hallway of the U.S. Capitol. Young says he shouldn't have done it.
ASRC Gets Option To Buy Into Offshore Chukchi Drilling Operations
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and a handful of North Slope village corporations now have the option to buy into offshore drilling operations in the Chukchi Sea. It’s part of a new agreement with Shell Oil. But with the future of that company’s Arctic operations up in the air, the deal raises more questions than answers.
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Sullivan Campaign: Poll Says We’re Winning
The U. S. Senate campaign of Republican Dan Sullivan is drawing attention to a poll that finds he’s ahead of Democratic Sen. Mark Begich by 5 percentage points. That’s just outside the poll’s margin of error. It’s based on interviews of 500 Alaskans in late June by Basswood, a Republican firm. The Sullivan press release is aimed a rebutting an analysis sponsored by CBS and the New York Times that rival Republican Mead Treadwell was circulating earlier in the week.
Campaign Profile: For Joe Miller, 2010 Looms Large
Republican Joe Miller is vying for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Mark Begich. But the specter of his 2010 run against Sen. Lisa Murkowski looms large over his current campaign. Some of the residual effects strengthen Miller’s candidacy. But the negatives are persistent.
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YouGov Model Shows Treadwell Within Reach of Begich
Most polls in the U.S. Senate race show Dan Sullivan ahead of rival Republican Mead Treadwell in the primary. But the Treadwell campaign is trumpeting a new analysis by the polling firm YouGov. It shows Treadwell would do better against incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Begich in November than Sullivan would.
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In U.S. Senate Race, GOP Rivals Lag Far Behind Sullivan
Campaign finance reports from Alaska’s U.S. Senate race show Republican candidate Dan Sullivan is increasing his financial lead over GOP rivals Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller.
Campaign Profile: Sullivan’s “Amazing Credentials”
As a candidate for U.S. Senate, Dan Sullivan has a bucket of advantages. He married into an acclaimed Athabascan family. His own family, back in Cleveland, are six-figure donors to Republicans in high places. One of his biggest assets, though, is his resume. But political opponents say his record has thin spots and complain he oversells himself.
Kerry Names Ex-Coast Guard Boss Special Rep to Arctic
Secretary of State John Kerry today named former Coast Guard commandant Robert J. Papp Jr. as special representative to the Arctic. Kerry created the new position to elevate Arctic issues in America's foreign policy and national security strategy as the U.S. prepares to assume the chair of the Arctic Council.
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Murkowski Joins Democrats on Vote for Birth Control Coverage
A U.S. Senate bill requiring companies to cover birth control in employee healthcare plans failed a procedural vote today . Both Alaska senators voted for the bill, aimed at undoing the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of only three Republicans to vote for the measure, dubbed the “Not My Boss’s Business Act.”
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House Considers Bill To Provide Advance Funding To IHS
The CEO of Kotzebue-based Maniilaq Association on Tuesday urged a U.S. House subcommittee to pass a bill that would provide advance funding for the Indian Health Service.
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Sullivan Reports Almost $1.2M In Donations In 2nd Quarter
In the U.S. Senate race, it appears Republican candidate Dan Sullivan is sustaining his fundraising momentum.
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Denali Commission Money Survives House
Congressman Don Young fends off incursion from fiscal hawks, but the commission remains a shadow of its former self.
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Sportsmen’s Bill Falls to Senate Gridlock
A bill to ensure hunters have access to federal land was blocked in the U.S. Senate today, even though nearly half the Senate had co-sponsored it. Sen. Lisa Murkowski , who crafted the bill, was spitting nails after it was derailed. It's the latest round of an ongoing fight over whether to allow amendments - in this case, amendments about gun control - on the Senate floor.
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Mead Treadwell, ‘Big-Picture Guy,’ Runs for U.S. Senate
Some people go into politics for prestige, some for power. Talk to Mead Treadwell for a while and it’s clear, he just loves policy. This is the first in a series about the three Republicans vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Mark Begich in November.
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Begich Co-Sponsors Bill Responding To Hobby Lobby Decision
Senator Mark Begich today joined other Democrats in sponsoring a bill that would make it illegal for a company to deny employees certain health benefits, including birth control, if they are required to be covered by federal health care law.
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U.S. Senator Still After ANC Contracting Advantages
A U.S. Senator from Missouri is continuing her crackdown on the advantages Alaska Native Corporations enjoy in government contracting.
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Treadwell Urges US to Check Putin in Arctic; Sullivan Spotlights ‘Pro-Putin Rally’
In a recent presentation in Washington, D.C., Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell spoke of the need to stay on neighborly terms with Russia. It’s caused a bit of a ruckus. Dan Sullivan, Treadwell’s rival in the GOP primary for U.S Senate, issued an email yesterday saying Treadwell attended a “pro-Putin rally,” echoing the words of an anti-Russian columnist who denounced the conference where Treadwell spoke.
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U.S. House Passes Bill To Open NPR-A
For the second time in six months, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at greater oil industry access to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
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