Politics

Alaska Democratic Congressional Hopeful Who’s Never Been To The State: ‘Don’t Lock Me Out’ Of Running

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A Democratic congressional candidate who is trying to represent Alaska has never been to the state but is begging voters to accept her anyway.

Carol Hafner is on Alaska’s Democratic primary ballot for its only spot in the U.S. House of Representatives, but she filed to run with New Jersey and South Dakota addresses on her application, reported The Associated Press.

Hafner is exploiting a national loophole that mandates that candidates live in the state when they are elected but not while they are running.

“Don’t lock me out just because I’m not a homeboy,” she told The Associated Press by phone. “You ought to be thankful that I care enough and I’m interested enough and passionate enough to want to make things better.”

Democratic Party officials tried to challenge her candidacy but were told by the Alaska Division of Elections that their request came too late and that Hafner’s filing was in order, reported the AP.

Hafner has more than 3,000 Twitter followers and has the hashtags #MedicareForAll, #AbolishICE, #FreeCollege and more in her Twitter bio. She anticipates campaigning through social media, not real-life campaign stops, reported the AP.

My platform is to #AbolishICE. Someone today asked what I meant. I was very clear – get rid of it completely! We cannot have #ICE armed terrorists kidnapping and intimidating our immigrant neighbors anymore! #Gestapo #ResistFascism #ReuniteEveryChild #Diversity #Immigration https://t.co/QlaWtn9t5k

— Carol Hafner for Congress (@VoteHafner) July 13, 2018

She will face rivals Dimitri Shein and Alyse Galvin in the Aug. 21 Democratic primary. The primary winner will likely face off against Republican incumbent Rep. Don Young, whose primary opponents have little traction, reported the AP. He is the longest-serving member of Congress, having been in office since 1973, reported Alaska Public Media.

Hafner said she thinks of South Dakota as her home but due to a family illness she has been residing in New Jersey and is “on my way out,” reported The Associated Press. She is registered to vote in New Jersey.

The last time a non-Alaskan ran for national office in the state, he lost by 93 percent. New York-based William Bryk only garnered about 2,000 votes in the Alaskan Democratic Senate primary in 2014, according to Ballotpedia.