Friends, today I’m excited to share a lively new discussion we had earlier today with our good friend, Eric Croft, the ass-kicking chair of the Alaska Democratic Party. Eric dropped by to report - remarkably - about the incredible opportunity we have in Alaska this November to win every state wide race in a state Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
In Alaska’s recent open primary our Senate candidate Mary Peltola received 49.5% of the vote, and all the Democrats received over 50%. The incumbent Senator, Dan Sullivan, only received 41% of the vote. 41%. Big yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peltola has sturdy leads in the most recent public, independent polls (via the NYT):
That same AARP poll, whose leader pollster is Trump’s pollster, also found our candidate for Governor, Jonathan Kriess-Tomkins (JKT), in a very strong position in both the initial ballot and when ranked choice voting is completed:
The strength of our two candidates may also enable Ben Hill, an independent backed by Democrats, to beat incumbent House Member Nick Begich, who only got 45% in Alaska’s recent primary. Just amazing!
The most important reason to watch or listen to our discussion is to hear Chair Croft talk about what the ADP was able to do with the major investment this community has made in Alaska this cycle, investments that have helped the state party run its most ambitious field program in years and recruit candidates to run in every part of the state. From our conversation:
My fabulous Executive Director up here, Jenny-Marie Stryker, and I were on board from day one on field. Going back to the basics of politics. Big ads are great, and our airwaves are certainly awash with them, and we’ll keep doing that. But that only goes so far. Real people talking to real people, having good candidates everywhere, focusing on the issues that actually matter.
You and I have talked about this “run everywhere” approach a number of times. As I said, we call it Team Togo.
I asked the Chair, “How are you going to close out? Five weeks out, what’s the plan?”
“Close out strong.”
“We think we have a real lead on the field side that they're not going to be able to just astroturf and manufacture overnight — but we've still got to put it to bed. So we're raising the last bit of money and focused on exactly that. We've built the fundamentals, we have the right candidates, they're doing the right things, and we just need to help them over the finish line.”
If you want to help us win Alaska this November you can do so in a few ways:
By giving to our
Fund, which splits your contribution evenly between Mary Peltola for Senate, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for Governor, and the ADP and Chair Eric Croft.Winning AlaskaBy giving to our
, which splits your contribution five ways among the Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas Democratic Parties.Expansion FundBy giving directly to
.Mary Peltola
We’ve done a lot of good this cycle but the early strategic investments this community has made through our Audacious Expansion Fund in the state parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas - given where the Senate battleground is today - have been some of our most important. Thanks to everyone who has contributed - as the Chair tells us it has made a huge difference!
Take the time to watch or listen to this interview with one of our very best Democratic Party Chairs in one of the most important, and promising, battleground states. I promise it will lift your spirits for who in the world ever imagined that we would have a shot at winning all of the state wide races in Alaska! It’s remarkable, and it’s why we need to keep ours head down and keep working hard. For we have a chance to take power away from this radical and dangerous party all across the country, from Alaska to Maine, from Wisconsin to Texas, and we need to join Chair Croft in closing strong and finishing the job, together - Simon
Eric Croft is a lifelong Alaskan with a commitment to progressive politics.
He served in the Alaska House of Representatives (1997-2007), the Anchorage School Board (2013-2016), and the Anchorage Municipal Assembly (2016-2019). In the state legislature, Eric drafted and passed by initiative two statewide election reform efforts in 2004/2006, and most recently he formed the coalition to pass Anchorage’s first dedicated funding for Pre-K and child care.
When not consumed by politics, Eric has intermittently held legal jobs, as an Anchorage prosecutor, starting a company to help people pass the Alaska Bar Exam, as a workers’ compensation attorney helping injured workers, and teaching law at UAA. Eric is married to the lovely and talented Joanna and is the proud father of Shannon and Burke. He enjoys boating, fishing, hunting, and riding his motorcycle in the summer.
Eric is proud to serve as the Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party.
