J. Sam Drolet

Yep. You mean the random guy with the same name as the incumbent didn't decide to run all on his own? He was put up to it by political operatives associated with the challenger? You don't say. Shocking. I'm so glad the New York Times is spending its time and resources tracking this down.

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Everyone in Alaska basically just assumed this was what happened as soon as the Fake Dan thing started. It's silly and fun but none of this stuff is going to affect the actual election at all.

(Amber Lee's name on the paperwork was a dead giveaway for real politics-knowers.)

I haven't read the NYT article and don't intend to, but it really doesn't mention RCV at all? That's a very important factor here!

John Pfaff@johnpfaff.bsky.social

How exactly does this work in ALASKA? The state w ranked-choice voting? If you don't like Peltola and you can't keep the Sullivans straight, just rank each Dan 1 and then 2. That way your votes will go to the real Dan, since he's sure to get more in Round 1. Note: ZERO mention of RCV in the NYT.

Anyway, it's been obvious from the beginning that something like this had to have been what happened and that everyone who claimed otherwise was lying. It's all pretty silly and ultimately inconsequential.

I see the Murkowski endorsement has finally awakened Bluesky to our insane gubernatorial election. JKT (as he's known) is the prohibitive frontrunner against three Republicans who are all terrible candidates in different ways.

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Taylor did fine as AG after his two predecessors were both forced out of office in disgrace due to weird sex scandals, but then he resigned to run for governor and was kicked off the ballot for blatantly violating campaign finance law, then bizarrely reinstated for reasons that don't make any sense.

Speaking of Treg Taylor, yes, that is his real name. Well, sort of. bsky.app/profile/did:...

J. Sam Drolet@jsamdrolet.bsky.social

"Treg" is short for "Tregarrick" (also not a typo!).

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adn.comOpinion: 3 former governors, 1 choice for AlaskaA Democrat, a Republican and an independent explain why they support Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor.

So yeah, JKT is obviously going to win. In addition to Lisa Murkowski, her dad and two other former governors of various parties just endorsed him. www.adn.com/opinions/202...

(That's a trailing indicator rather than a leading one but still noteworthy. @alaskasurvey.bsky.social's latest poll has him winning on the first round of RCV.)

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And, again, she's the *top* Republican in the race. The other two are even worse.

Unlike her, they do both have some experience in public office. Dave Bronson was mayor of Anchorage and Treg Taylor was AG. Bronson's mayoralty was a disaster, though, and he was easily defeated for reelection.

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She, in turn, is being labeled "Berna-debt" due to her long history of not paying her bills. It's been a race.

She does have the coveted endorsement from Trump, who also has a long history of not paying bills.

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He's also known as ChatJKT due to his massive fundraising from employees of Anthropic (yes, yes, different companies, whatever), apparently due to one guy from Alaska who works there. His top GOP rival Bernadette Wilson has been running ads trying to tar him with that but they're not landing.

dailymail.comNetanyahu orders Israel to back Argentina's claim over the FalklandsBenjamin Netanyahu has urged Israel to support Argentina over the Falklands after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband imposed economic sanctions on West Bank settlements.

LAS MALVINAS SON ISRAELIS www.dailymail.com/news/article...

adn.comNew program aims to place dozens of homeless Anchorage families into market-rate apartments next yearThe federally subsidized “Homelessness to Housing” program will provide two-year vouchers under a new partnership between Anchorage and Alaska’s main public housing agency.

Good article on a new program we're setting up, which one of my employees presented on last week. Usually I do these sorts of presentations but I was out of town, so it's nice that it went well and got some positive attention. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

Is this about Paxson?

Some intrepid journalist really needs to do a deep dive into John Husted’s ass (uh, so to speak). Is it really like a pile of muscle? What is Trump talking about?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "I'm studying his body. I've never studied the body of a man before. It's not my thing. Nothing wrong with it, of course. But it's never been my thing. But I looked at his ass. I said, 'His ass, shit, it's like a pile of muscle.' Then I looked at his legs and I said, 'Man, his feet are big.'"

I have a layover in Minnesota tomorrow. I hope they don't kick me off the site!

Jackson O'Lantern-Brien@sprobeforebros.bsky.social

tired: bluesky is dying wired: bluesky is slowly turning into a minnesota-only social media network. Soon it will become another local curiosity like saying "parking ramp" instead of "parking garage" and playing duck duck gray duck

(Potentially) Career-Ending Scandal on Day One is a new low even by Trump Administration standards. Scaramucci was Methuselah by comparison.

Parenthetical because she is still technically employed, but we can all see the writing on the wall.

Pineapple moose!

Ali@alaskaali.bsky.social

I thought he was settled in for the night but he moved. Did I take the only picture of a pineapple plant (CURRENTLY WITH PINEAPPLE) and a moose in the same frame to ever exist in the history of the universe?

Very famous example of this was the Alaska vote back in the '70s on moving the capital away from Juneau. Voters approved the move, then a few years later there was a second vote on appropriating funds to pay for the move and voters rejected it. The capital never moved.

Glonzo In Exile 🇨🇦🇬🇱🇨🇦🇬🇱@glonzo-in-exile.bsky.social

Every issue poll be like do you want thing? Yes: 78% No: 15% Do you want thing with inevitable inseparable unavoidable consequence of thing? Yes: 31% No: 58%

"No take only throw"-ass electorate.

I've long thought that people who don't think management does anything useful have either never had a good manager, or never had a bad one.

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If you've had both, the difference is quite notable.

This is a wild story. Apparently she was one of the heirs to the Maytag washing machine fortune.

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washingtonsun.comTrump’s New Press Secretary Faces Bar Complaint in CaliforniaKatie Zacharia has called herself an attorney in recent television and podcast appearances, but it’s unclear if she’s licensed to practice law.

I have a feeling Katie Zacharia is one of several people in the administration who are going to end up wishing they hadn't failed *quite* so far upward.

The Washington Sun@washingtonsun.com

A watchdog group filed a complaint with the State Bar of California asking authorities to investigate whether White House press secretary Katie Zacharia practiced law without a license.

bit.lyKimberly Giulfoyle ‘holed up’ in Athens with no one to trust after Trump ouster: reportKimberly Giulfoyle is reportedly “holed up” at the official ambassador’s residence in Athens after being asked to resign by President Donald Trump, as new allegations emerge about her efforts to get wealthy businessmen to cover a luxury SUV debt.“I have no one that I can trust over here,” Giulfoyle ...

Here's another one. bsky.app/profile/raws...

Raw Story@rawstory.com

Kimberly Giulfoyle is reportedly "holed up" at the official ambassador's residence in Athens after being asked to resign by President Donald Trump, as new allegations emerge about her efforts to get wealthy businessmen to cover a luxury SUV debt.

Ha. Related indeed.

Heckuva job, Donnie.

Important context for Trump's rally in Wasilla today.

Ivan Moore@alaskasurvey.bsky.social

The second question is a more conventional job approval: Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as US president? Approve 35 Disapprove 57 No opinion 8 -22 underwater in Alaska, almost exactly the same as current national averages. 🧵5/12

(Not necessarily more liberal! It's Complicated.)

Mary Peltola is a great example of a classic rural Alaska not-very-liberal Democrat.

Important context for Trump's rally in Wasilla today.

Ivan Moore@alaskasurvey.bsky.social

The distinction is mostly about transportation systems but also about hunting laws. Rural Alaska in this sense is and has always been much more Dem-leaning politically than Urban Alaska.

The big shift in the wake of the oil boom really applied only to Urban Alaska. Rural Alaska is a throwback in this sense as in others.

Important context for Trump's rally in Wasilla today.

Ivan Moore@alaskasurvey.bsky.social

The Valley has long been considered the most conservative part of the state, but it might be seeing some of the same dynamics that are bluing the suburbs in other parts of the country. The Kenai is still much more rural.

("Rural" in the Lower 48 sense there. This is all still "urban" Alaska by local standards.)

Important context for Trump's rally in Wasilla today.

Ivan Moore@alaskasurvey.bsky.social

Only +1 in the Valley! That's astonishing. bsky.app/profile/alas...

Ivan Moore@alaskasurvey.bsky.social

No party (54%) 25-66 (-41) Conservative (35%) 74-17 (+57) Moderate (44%) 19-69 (-50) Progressive (20%) 1-99 (-98) MAGA (26%) 89-5 (+84) Non-MAGA (74%) 16-76 (-60) Anchorage (40%) 30-64 (-34) Fairbanks (13%) 37-55 (-18) MatSu (16%) 44-43 (+1) Kenai Pen (9%) 51-43 (+8) 🧵8/12

Significantly higher on the Kenai, which is interesting. I wonder if spillover from Anchorage is moderating the Mat-Su enough to show up in polls by now.