Independent Bill Hill, a 57-year-old fisherman from Bristol Bay, is challenging Republican Nick Begich for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat as national Republicans work to hold their House majority. Hill’s campaign focuses on affordability and resistance to billionaires, while his work and home remain bound to a remote fishing community. He’s a first-time candidate and Alaska Native.
A Campaign Rooted in Local Costs
Hill paused his campaign during Alaska’s primary season this summer and went 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 small southwest Alaska village where his family had no phone and carried water from a nearby lake for cooking and bathing. Now he lives in a remote fishing community of about 430 people, his home for nearly half his life.
Hill, a retired teacher and school administrator, says high fuel prices and other costs rank among the concerns he hears most from Alaskans. Earlier this year, he said, he flew home, pumped fuel oil from the textile manufacturing business he runs with his wife, then hauled it back to their house in a barrel after the community ran out. Fuel prices climbed from about $6.70 per gallon to about $9 after a barge shipment arrived. Other communities accessible only by air or water have also faced higher prices.
At a Juneau campaign event, Hill wore jeans, a zip-up vest and a cap with a fishing company logo. “We are pedal to the metal, making sure that every Alaskan knows about this campaign, every Alaskan knows what we stand for and every Alaskan knows that it's really one of them going to Congress,” he told attendees. “I need your help getting there.” His campaign says he has traveled more than 20,000 miles in Alaska by plane, ferry and all-terrain vehicle to meet voters.
National Campaigns and Party Pressure
Vice President JD Vance held a rally this week for Begich and Dan Sullivan, the U.S. senator also in a tight reelection race. President Donald Trump plans to hold another rally in the coming week. In early August, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., held a rally for Begich that reporters couldn’t attend. Since the primary, Begich and Republican political action committees have increased their ad spending.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and House Majority PAC, which seeks to flip the House to Democrats, are among the national groups involved in the race. Trump has cited Begich’s support for his signature package of tax breaks, social service cuts and immigration enforcement, which Congress passed last year. Trump plans to headline a rally Tuesday in Wasilla, Sarah Palin’s hometown.
Begich is seeking a second term and has tied himself to Trump, who has carried Alaska in his White House runs. He comes from a prominent family in Alaska politics: his late grandfather held the state’s only U.S. House seat, and his uncle Mark was a U.S. senator. Both were Democrats. Zach Bannon, an NRCC spokesperson, said Begich had 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.
The Ballot and Congressional Authority
Alaska’s ranked-vote general election is scheduled for Nov. 3. Eric Hafner, registered as a Democrat, remains in the top four after receiving 3.8% of the vote. He has no apparent ties to Alaska and is incarcerated in New York. His biography in state election materials doesn’t mention that he is serving time in federal prison for making threats against police officers, judges and others. Hill’s campaign has handed out 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.
The Alaska Democratic Party has endorsed Hill. He calls himself a lifelong independent and says he won’t be beholden to a “party boss” or party line. Some voters bristled at his earlier reluctance to say which party he would caucus with in the House if elected. Hill says he’s willing to work with anyone on what is best for Alaska, and he has called for bans on congressional stock trading and limits on money’s influence in elections.
Voter Steve Davis said Hill appealed to him partly because he wants Congress to reclaim its oversight role. Hill drew applause when he said Congress must reassert itself as a separate but equal branch of government. “We don’t need a unified executive, we don’t need kings,” Davis said. “We need a Congress that actually functions.”