Among 11 Interior candidates looking to fill five Alaska House of Representatives seats, there is one who has seen more campaign contributions than any other: Rep. Maxine Dibert.
Dibert, a Democrat who was elected in 2022 to represent House District 31, raised $141,462 for her reelection campaign as of Oct. 4, according to data from the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC).
“I’ve been working hard and having one-on-one conversations everyday,” Dibert told the News-Miner. “I’m from here. I am the only Alaska Native woman serving [in the Legislature].”
Her Republican opponent, former state legislator Bart LeBon, has raised less than half of the amount Dibert has with $64,739. But that still puts him in second for most money raised among Interior House candidates.
Some of the names on Dibert’s APOC donor list have drawn criticism. Jennifer and Jonathan Soros — the son and daughter-in-law of billionaire George Soros — donated $1,000 to her campaign.
Additionally, Cale and Django Bonderman gave $2,000 to Dibert’s campaign. Based on the addresses submitted to APOC, these individuals appear to be related to David Bonderman, the billionaire CEO of TPG Capital and owner of the Seattle Kraken. Together, these major donations make up 2% of Dibert’s total campaign income
“I don’t know them,” Dibert said.
Both the Soros and Bonderman families are well known for their campaign finance activities. A search of their names on FollowTheMoney.org shows tens of millions of dollars spent in recent years on dozens of campaigns across Alaska and the U.S.
About 6% ($9,343) of Dibert’s funding has come from Outside. However, most of her Outside donations were under $50 each. Conversely, LeBon’s singular Outside donation was $260.
LeBon has the support of GOP leadership in Alaska with $1,000 or more donations from Capital City Republicans in Juneau and the Republican Women of Fairbanks. Prominent local businessmen such as Chena Hot Springs Resort owner Bernie Karl, Craig Compeau, defense attorney Bill Satterberg also donated $1,000 or more each.
Additionally, political action committees (PACs) for oil company Conoco Phillips and Wells Fargo Bank also donated $1,000 each to LeBon.
Unions whose workers are present in Fairbanks and across the state have invested heavily in Dibert’s campaign. More than a dozen unions such as Alaska Professional Firefighters, IBEW (electrical workers) and multiple laborer’s groups donated a combined $22,250 to Dibert.
LeBon and Dibert’s combined campaign income make up 51% of all the money flowing to Interior candidates for Alaska House. But they aren’t the only candidates running to represent the Interior in Juneau.
House District 32
Incumbent Alaska Rep. Will Stapp is defending his HD 32 seat against newcomer Democrat Gary Damron.
Stapp is vastly outraising his opponent more than 10 to 1 with $15,287 raised against Damron’s $1,485.
The Republican Stapp also has significant union support, with major donations from Teamsters Alive, the Public Safety Employees Association and the Fairbanks-based Laborers’ Local 942.
Damron’s largest donor is the Alaska Correctional Officers Association PAC, who gave $500. Damron is a former corrections officer in Alaska.
House District 34
State Rep. Frank Tomaszewski is seeking a second term in House Seat 34, while fellow Republican Joy Beth Cottle looks to unseat him.
Tomaszewski has received donations from prominent Fairbanks businessmen such as Seekins Ford Lincoln owner Ralph Seekins, Fairbanks Nissan owner Les Nichols and Joseph Usibellli.
Nearly 10%, or $3,900, of Cottle’s campaign income comes from people who listed their occupation as firefighter. She is currently a captain with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Fire Department.
Cottle has seen only a handful of Outside donations totaling about $500, or 1.2% of her total income. Tomaszewski has only one Outside donation of $150.
With less than a month to go before the election on Nov. 5, Cottle is outraising Tomaszewski $40,192 to $35,389.
House District 35
Incumbent Democrat Ashley Carrick is outraising her Republican opponent Ruben McNeill by just under $30,000,
Carrick was elected to HD 35 — which includes most of west Fairbanks and UAF — in 2022. McNeill ran unsuccessfully against Carrick the same year.
McNeill’s largest donor in this election is the Republican Women of Fairbanks with $1,500. Like other Interior Democrats, Carrick has significant financial support from labor unions such as the state employees union, IUOE Local 302 (engineers), Teamsters and others.
About 1.6% of Carrick’s $39,790 came from Outside donors. None of McNeill’s $9,907 in funding came from outside sources.
House District 36
House District 36 is the only Interior House race with three candidates seeking election. Originally, five candidates were looking to fill the seat, but Republican Cole Snodgress and Libertarian James Fields dropped out of the race.
That leaves Republicans Pamela Goode and Rebecca Schwanke, and Democrat Brandon Kowalski.
Excluding her own donations, Goode has raised only $1,335 in 11 unique donations. Kowalski has raised $22,660 while Schwanke is leading the race with $29,360 in contributions.
Kowalski, by far, has the highest rate of Outside donations among Interior House candidates with nearly 17% or $3,850 coming from people who gave addresses in the Lower 48. None of Schwanke’s donations are from Outside.
Schwanke has large donations from the Republican Women of Fairbanks, oil company Conoco Phillips and Public Employees Local 71.
Kowalski received financial support from IUOE, the Alaska Public Employees Association and the National Education Association-Alaska.