The Patriot Post® · Alaska's Dark Money Fight Is Every State's Fight

I spent 24 years wearing our nation’s uniform as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. I hold tightly to the belief the United States and the principles behind its creation are one of the greatest achievements in human history. Many Americans, myself included, are concerned about the direction our nation is headed. If this election taught us anything, it’s that a majority of Americans still love this nation and want a return to normalcy. There is nothing wrong with loving your country. The winning candidate was brashly America first and won by a wide margin. Proof enough.

As a state senator in Alaska for eight years and a resident for most of my adult life, I have witnessed a host of special interests constantly push left-wing ballot initiatives here. Why? We are a vast state by landmass but small in population, with around 730,000 citizens. Leftists can “buy” laws in Alaska on the cheap and out of sight. Let me explain.

This last election cycle, there was a citizen grassroots ballot initiative to repeal “ranked-choice voting,” which I wrote about under the title, “The Demos’ ‘Ranked Choice Vote’ Subversion Scheme.” The left-wing groups who spent millions to “install” RCV in Alaska in 2020 spent almost $15 million dollars to defend ranked choice voting in 2024. According to the Alaska Public Offices Commission data, roughly $10,000 of that $15 million was generated from inside Alaska; the rest was “dark money” from left-wing organizations from outside Alaska.

The Alaska citizens who rallied to repeal RCV raised about $155,000, virtually all of it coming from inside our state. Do the math: Out-of-state billionaires and left-wing front groups like Arabella Advisors and the 1630 fund outspent us 100:1. Those are incredibly tough numbers to overcome. We don’t have the resources in our tiny state to defend ourselves against such an onslaught.

To put it another way, to buy a law in California based on the population size would have cost them roughly $800 MILLION to run a similar ballot initiative compared to the “chump change” it costs in Alaska. They spent $93 dollars PER VOTE to save RCV. Alaskans for repealing it had only $0.93 cents PER VOTE. It then becomes clear why they picked Alaska to run such initiatives. For much less money, the law gets passed, and then they use Alaska as a springboard to other states to push the initiative, pointing out how great it works up north where no one is paying attention. Alaska isn’t exactly on the national news with regularity.

For our part, this year, even though we were vastly outspent, the effort to repeal RCV was defeated by just a few hundred votes out of about 350,000 cast. Imagine if Alaskans had even a few million to spend to counter the influence of dark money. Considering polling consistently showed a 60% or greater unfavorable view of RCV, the repeal would have easily won.

The pro-RCV groups lied, used lawfare, had spies in the repeal campaign, and inundated Alaskans with propaganda for a year. If this sounds like desperation, it was. The reason is clear: If they can install RCV across the nation, they can more quickly achieve their ultimate goal — a one-party system in which the Left has complete control of the political landscape and, therefore, the country.

But if Alaska repeals RCV, it throws cold water on the RCV narrative. If it’s so great, why did Alaska repeal it? Hence, it’s an all-out, spare-no-expense, tell-any-lie, desperate campaign they must win for their long game to be successful.

For those who aren’t aware, RCV is a left-wing voting scheme designed to turn a red state blue. It’s touted as giving voters more “choice,” but it has numerous faults. It is well documented that it is complicated, confusing, and disenfranchises the elderly, minorities, English language learners, and those with less than a high school diploma. Over time, it will actually suppress voter turnout.

As a reference, RCV allowed a Democrat to be elected to Alaska’s only U.S. congressional seat for the first time in 50 years, even though there are twice as many Republicans in Alaska as Democrats. RCV did that. Senator Lisa Murkowski was censored by the Alaska Republican Party in 2022. She would not have survived the primary, but the “jungle” primary with RCV in Alaska allowed her to stay on the ballot and defeat the more conservative challenger.

Without spending an entire article on RCV, suffice it to say, after four years and two election cycles of it in Alaska, we are ready to “cancel” it for good.

However, fear not! Even though we lost this round, barely, Alaskans are tough. We’re sick and tired of being influenced by special interests in the lower 48. We aren’t about to give up. The effort to repeal RCV has already begun again for the next election cycle. We will gather our forces, build our war chest, and oppose the Left head-on. We will win; it’s just a matter of time.

For the rest of the nation? Let Alaska be your canary in the coal mine. Don’t be fooled into thinking ranked voting is good. It’s not. In fact, fight it with all your might. I can attest personally the future of our nation depends on it.