Alaska politics is a small world, with campaigns sometimes even pitting former colleagues and friends against each other.
But an episode Thursday involving fermented cabbage and the state's U.S. Congressional races took the tight-knittedness to a whole new level.
It all started -- at least from a reporter's point of view -- with a speech from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan to a "senior citizen's college" at Anchorage's Korean American community center.
As Sullivan, a former U.S. State Department official, touted his foreign policy experience through a translator to a crowd of seniors, the delicious odor of Korean food wafted into the chilly conference room. And when Sullivan wrapped up his speech, he was ushered into the next room and invited to help himself to a buffet line, with trays piled high with egg rolls, noodles, and barbecued chicken.
"Ah, I love kimchi!" Sullivan exclaimed, when he reached the tray filled with the Korean side dish that consists of fermented cabbage and spices.
As Sullivan filled up his plate, someone in the room asked where the food had come from. The cheerful response: "Begich campaign!"
That would be incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich -- Sullivan's opponent, who had been a guest at the Korean center earlier in the day, and who apparently had thought to provide a tasty lunch for his hosts. A spokesman for Begich, Max Croes, confirmed that his campaign had paid for the meal.
But if Sullivan was worried he'd end up under attack for chowing down on Democratic chicken, additional facts emerged late Friday that may, in fact, provide him with a defense.
The food, it turned out, came from Twin Dragon -- a staple Asian restaurant in Anchorage that is owned by none other than the family of Matt Shuckerow, who serves as the press secretary for Alaska's long-serving Republican, U.S. Rep. Don Young.
Shuckerow late Thursday confirmed that Twin Dragon had, in fact, prepared a large order for the Begich campaign earlier in the day.
And that kimchi that Sullivan was so excited about? Shuckerow's mother's recipe.
Alaska Dispatch Publishing