Candidates Joe Miller, left, Dan Sullivan, center, and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell appear on stage together at the state Republican Convention at Centennial Hall on Friday. The three are running against each over for the Republican nomination to run against Democrat Sen. Mark Begich next November.

Candidates Joe Miller, left, Dan Sullivan, center, and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell appear on stage together at the state Republican Convention at Centennial Hall on Friday. The three are running against each over for the Republican nomination to run against Democrat Sen. Mark Begich next November.

Republican candidates rally party support

  • By MATT WOOLBRIGHT
  • Saturday, May 3, 2014 10:48pm
  • News

JUNEAU — Alaska’s largest political party and its candidates for major offices are bracing for a fight this fall when the nation’s eyes turn to the 49th state’s U.S. Senate race.

The state Republican Party travelled to Juneau over the weekend for its biennial state convention, and delegates representing districts statewide seized the opportunity to learn more about the party’s candidates vying for state and federal office.

The event kick-started with Republican Gov. Sean Parnell and wife Sandy opening the mansion for tea with visitors, but the focus quickly shifted afterwards to the elections.

“The road to a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate runs straight through Alaska, and the Democrats know it,” said Dan Sullivan, a candidate for the Republican nomination.

Sullivan, a former state Attorney General and Department of Natural Resources commissioner, is running against current Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former Republican nominee Joe Miller.

Making their case

Sullivan’s pitch to the Republican movers and shakers was one about curtailing federal overreach and cultivating a climate that is development friendly toward Alaska’s natural resources.

It’s for that reason, he said, he would seek a seat on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

“There is an overregulation of Alaska and America in every single sector,” Sullivan said.

Treadwell focused on similar issues and also said he would want to be on the public works committee.

“That’s where we need to be to cut back the (Environmental Protection Agency),” Treadwell said.

But rather than focusing on energy development, Treadwell is seeking budgetary reform on the federal level.

“I will not vote to expand our country’s debt unless we also have a vote to have a balanced budget,” he told the audience. “We’re spending too much, and printing too much.”

Miller won the 2010 Republican primary against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, but she then mounted a successful write-in campaign to win in the general election — a fact Miller remembers very well.

The convention hall went quite after Miller was the only one of the three to say he would not commit to supporting the Republican nominee if he fails to win the primary. He said it’s because the other candidates for Democratic Sen. Mark Begich’s seat didn’t support him during Murkowski’s write-in campaign.

“Without that baseline of trust, I cannot make such a commitment,” he said.

His message to the convention was one of dire need for a new direction.

He urged the party to embrace its conservative core, rather than try and compromise.

“I don’t think this country — if it continues the way it’s going — will be around much longer,” Miller said. “We are moving in a direction opposite our foundation. We need to embrace the platform.”

He attributed much of the blame for the federal government’s growth at the feet of his own party.

For the state’s top elected Republican, Gov. Parnell said his next four years would be focused on the same issues recently addressed by the Legislature.

Those are getting the gasline built and ensuring the comprehensive education reform bill produces results for Alaskan children, he said.

“Our administration is going to build this gasline. There’s no doubt about that,” Parnell said, adding that the global economics are encouraging for the project.

“It’s not just a dream,” he continued. “You’ve got companies laying down money to go design a project.”

More in News

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
King salmon fishing on Kasilof closes Thursday

If any king salmon is caught while fishing for other species, they may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.

Un’a, a female sea otter pup who was admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center in June 2025, plays with an enrichment toy at the center in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list.

James Wardlow demonstrates flilleting a salmon with an ulu during a smoked salmon demonstration, part of Fish Week 2023, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Refuge to celebrate all things fish during weeklong event

Fish Week will take place July 16-19.

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finalizes budget with deep cuts to programming, classrooms

Multiple members of the board said they were frustrated by the state’s failure to fund education.

Former KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes speaks during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School district finance department earns national awards

The two awards are based on comprehensive reviews of the district’s budget and financial reporting.

Children leap forward to grab candy during a Fourth of July parade on South Willow Street in Kenai, Alaska, on July 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy Sarah Every)
Celebrating the 4th in the streets

Kenai comes out for annual Independence Day parade.

Fire crews respond to the Bruce Fire, July 4, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Alaska Division of Forestry)
Firefighting crews respond to wildfire outside Soldotna

The 8-acre fire and two “spot fires” of less than one acre each are located near Mile 102 and 103 of the Sterling Highway.

Most Read