Politics

Alaska GOP spokeswoman to leave job after November elections

The spokeswoman for the Alaska Republican Party, Suzanne Downing, plans to leave her job after the November election, but will continue publishing her personal political news website, Must Read Alaska.

Downing's husband, public broadcasting executive Pat Yack, has accepted a job in Florida, she said. She plans to remain in Alaska as a paid staffer for the state party through November, she said.

Downing publishes Must Read Alaska — a website that started as a weekly party newsletter but changed into a personal endeavor that she now pursues during evenings and lunch breaks, she said.

The website has a conservative bent, with frequent postings skewering public figures like Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, a Republican-turned independent, and Alice Rogoff, the publisher of Alaska Dispatch News. But Downing has also published scoops and previously unreported government documents.

Downing said she'll continue publishing Must Read Alaska after the election and said she'll have more freedom in her postings once she leaves her formal role with the GOP.

"I'm not going away," she said.

Downing said she plans to continue spending time in Alaska and will maintain her residency in the state.

Nathaniel Herz

Anchorage-based independent journalist Nathaniel Herz has been a reporter in Alaska for nearly a decade, with stints at the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. Read his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com

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