Politics

Accused Alaska state representative won’t appear in court until after primary election

An Alaska state lawmaker accused of election fraud will not appear in court until after Alaska’s Aug. 18 statewide primary.

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, had been scheduled for a pre-indictment hearing Thursday, but the Alaska Court System delayed the hearing, citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The hearing is now set for Aug. 20.

LeDoux, who was accused of one felony and nine misdemeanors relating to her 2014 and 2018 campaigns for office, was charged in March. This week’s delay is the second in that case. She had been scheduled for a hearing in May, but that appearance was also postponed by the pandemic.

“I’m looking forward to clearing my name,” LeDoux said Wednesday, declining further comment.

LeDoux, her former chief of staff Lisa Simpson, and Simpson’s son, Caden Vaught, have been accused of encouraging ineligible voters to vote for LeDoux in the 2014 and 2018 Republican primaries.

Thursday’s hearing was intended as a kind of status hearing before the state convenes a grand jury. That grand jury could indict LeDoux and the two others on felony charges. LeDoux herself was not expected to attend the hearing.

LeDoux faces a Republican challenger, David Nelson, in the Aug. 18 primary. Three Democrats are also in the race for LeDoux’s seat, and the winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican primary on Nov. 3.

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James Brooks

James Brooks was a Juneau-based reporter for the ADN from 2018 to May 2022.

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