Politics

Hillary Clinton takes first Alaska questions -- from an Anchorage pop radio station

Just days before the Alaska Democratic caucus, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton held her first interview with Alaska media -- on Anchorage's 101.3 FM KGOT "Breakfast Club."

The former U.S. secretary of state took 10 minutes of questions from "Breakfast Club" morning show hosts Malie Delgado and Casey Bieber on a range of topics, from oil and gas exploration to her favorite karaoke song (answer: "Moon River").

A spokeswoman with the Clinton campaign confirmed the candidate had an interview with the top-40 pop station Tuesday morning.

In the interview, Clinton referenced her experiences in Alaska, saying she came to the state in 1969 to work the salmon "slime line" in Valdez.

"And think about this," she said as she signed off from the interview, "I'm the only candidate who's ever actually worked in Alaska. So hooray!"

Bieber said in an email that Clinton's national campaign on Monday reached out to the radio station about an interview. He wrote that the morning show tries to stay out of politics, but the station went ahead with the interview because "it's an important presidential race this year, especially for our audience."

He wrote that they would love to talk to all presidential candidates and would give any other candidate equal time on the show.

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"We were surprised as well," he wrote of the interview request. "Nice break talking to Hillary than talking about Kardashians."

Clinton and her Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders have set up Alaska offices ahead of Saturday's caucus, though neither has made a trip to the state. The only presidential candidate to stump in Alaska this election year has been Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who visited Alaska in August. He suspended his campaign in February.

You can listen to the full interview below.

Suzanna Caldwell

Suzanna Caldwell is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in 2017.

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