Republicans are spending money, burning political capital and flying in their biggest names to defend a House seat Alaska has long sent to the GOP. Bill Hill, a 57-year-old independent fisherman from Bristol Bay, is challenging Republican Rep. Nick Begich for the state’s only U.S. House seat. With the party fighting to keep its House majority, the race has put Republicans on the defensive.
A Campaign Built on Cost of Living
Hill paused his campaign during Alaska’s primary season this summer to return home for the start of the world’s biggest sockeye salmon run. “I told my team that I have got to fish,” he said. “Commercial fishing is the way that we pay the bills.”
He grew up in a tiny southwest Alaska village where, he said, his family had no phone and hauled water from a nearby lake for cooking and bathing. Today, he lives in a remote fishing community of about 430 people. He’s a retired teacher and school administrator, and he runs a textile manufacturing business with his wife. His pitch focuses on affordability and pushing back against billionaires.
The fuel numbers give his pitch force. Earlier this year, Hill said, he flew home and pumped fuel oil from the family business, then hauled it to the house in a barrel after the community ran out. Prices climbed from about $6.70 per gallon to about $9 per gallon after a barge shipment arrived, he said. In communities reachable only by air or water, prices have climbed higher still. His campaign has posted fuel prices around the state as it criticizes Begich’s support for the Iran war.
The Republican Response
The GOP isn’t taking chances. Vice President JD Vance held a rally this week for Begich and Sen. Dan Sullivan, who faces his own tight reelection race against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. At a Fairbanks rally, Vance called Begich a “machine” and an effective legislator. President Donald Trump will headline a rally Tuesday in Wasilla. House Speaker Mike Johnson held a rally for Begich in early August, but reporters couldn’t attend. Since the primary, Begich and Republican political action committees have increased their ad spending.
Trump has highlighted Begich’s support for his signature package of tax breaks, social service cuts and immigration enforcement, which passed last year. NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon said Begich has delivered “commonsense wins for Alaska,” including support for expanded oil and gas development, and called Hill a “far-left Democrat.” Begich’s campaign didn’t respond to messages.
Independent in Name, Endorsed by Democrats
Hill calls himself a lifelong independent who won’t be beholden to a “party boss” or party line. Yet the Alaska Democratic Party has endorsed him, and House Majority PAC, which seeks to flip the House to Democrats, is among the national groups involved in the race. One Democrat suspended his campaign before the August open primary and endorsed Hill. Two others withdrew after the primary, despite being in line to advance.
Earlier in the campaign, Hill’s reluctance to say which party he’d caucus with in the House rankled some voters. He says he’s willing to work with anyone on what’s best for Alaska. He’s called for bans on congressional stock trading and limits on money’s influence in elections, saying he “can be a big part of a small group that makes big changes.”
Begich has the advantage of a famous Alaska name. His late grandfather held the state’s only U.S. House seat, and his uncle Mark was a U.S. senator. Both were Democrats. Nick Begich is a lifelong Republican aligned with Trump, who has carried Alaska in his White House runs.
A Ballot Oddity
The ranked-vote general election on Nov. 3 includes Eric Hafner, a candidate registered as a Democrat with no apparent ties to Alaska. He’s incarcerated in New York, serving time in federal prison for making threats against police officers, judges and others. His candidate biography in state election materials doesn’t mention that. Hafner received 3.8% of the vote, enough to make the top four. Hill’s campaign has circulated stickers showing Hafner in an orange jumpsuit and calling him a “fake ‘Democrat.’” “We want to make sure that the Alaskan people are well-informed,” Hill said.
At a Juneau event, voter Steve Davis said he wants Congress to reclaim its oversight role. “We don’t need a unified executive, we don’t need kings,” he said. “We need a Congress that actually functions.”
Why This Matters:
One seat can decide control of the House. Alaska’s single at-large district makes this race a high-stakes test of whether voters reward the party in power on economic issues. Hill’s fuel-price figures—from about $6.70 to about $9 per gallon in a remote community—show why cost of living crosses party lines in a state where goods arrive by barge and plane. Republicans will argue that expanded oil and gas development is the answer to those costs; Hill’s campaign argues Washington hasn’t delivered relief. The ranked-vote system, the Democratic endorsement of a self-described independent and a jailed candidate on the ballot add uncertainty. Voters will weigh competing claims about affordability and who will serve Alaska rather than a party.