The last time Alaskans successfully organized a write-in campaign, the reason was to deny a closed-minded and antagonistic primary winner a seat in the U.S. Senate. Lisa Murkowski won that election because the majority of voters from both parties saw great value in placing reasonable and cooperative persons in positions of power. Sen. Murkowski has served us well, basing her votes and advocacy on reason and principle rather than a narrow ideology.
We now see that the Alaska GOP is contemplating a write-in campaign to oppose Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, a Republican primary winner. Republican Party leaders are clearly illustrating what we have all known to be true — they do not want to cooperate with anyone. They would rather see Alaskans suffer under their misguided and unsubstantiated policies than see us gather our best ideas and work collaboratively toward a shared vision.
If a write-in campaign is actually implemented, I expect that the state GOP will learn that most voters still value collaboration, and realize that the building of a responsive and sustainable government that serves all Alaskans requires cooperation from people of all political persuasions. We need courageous and principled persons like Gabrielle LeDoux to represent us, especially at critical times like this.
— Tom Miller
Anchorage
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