By SUZANNE DOWNING
Sitka sources say Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former Democratic member of the Alaska House of Representatives, is expected to announce a run for governor on Wednesday, setting the stage for a high-profile reentry into statewide politics.
Speculation about Kreiss-Tomkins’ plans surfaced Tuesday on Sitka’s KCAW radio, and he filed a letter of intent with the state to run for an undisclosed statewide office, a procedural step often taken just ahead of a formal campaign launch.
Kreiss-Tomkins served in the Alaska House from 2013 to 2023, representing House District 35, a Southeast Alaska district encompassing island and coastal communities including Sitka, Hoonah, Angoon, Kake, Craig, Klawock, Petersburg, and surrounding villages. He now is registered to vote in midtown Anchorage and his letter of intent has a Sitka address.
JKT’s political career began with one of the closest legislative races in recent Alaska history. In 2012, after redistricting reshaped Southeast House lines, a recount confirmed Kreiss-Tomkins’ 32-vote victory over Republican Rep. Bill Thomas, an Alaska Native of Haines. That result that flipped the seat to Democrats.
During his tenure, Kreiss-Tomkins gained attention for a bill signed into law in October 2014 that made Alaska’s 20 Native languages official languages of the state. The bill passed with large bipartisan majorities and added languages including Inupiaq, Central Alaskan Yup’ik, Tlingit, Haida, Unangax̂, Gwich’in, and others to state statute.
That legislation helped propel Kreiss-Tomkins onto the national liberal political radar. The Nation published a profile titled “Alaska’s Lesson for the Left,” and Politico later featured him in “How to Turn a Red State Purple.” The Washington Post also named him one of its “40 Under 40” American politicians following the 2014 legislative session.
More recently, Kreiss-Tomkins was associated with a controversial pandemic-era policymaking tool through his role as a co-founder of Covid Act Now in 2020. The organization gained rapid prominence by producing state-by-state Covid-19 modeling and risk projections used by policymakers, mainstream media outlets, and advocacy groups nationwide.
Those models, however, became a focal point of controversy. Early projections in March and April 2020 overestimated hospitalizations, deaths, and healthcare system overload under worst-case scenarios. The projections relied on uncertain early data and assumptions and did not fully account for regional differences, behavioral changes, or mitigation measures already underway.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cited such models when pushing back against lockdowns and other restrictions, arguing that alarmist forecasts contributed to draconian policy decisions that later proved unnecessary or excessive.
Covid Act Now acknowledged the uncertainty, later posting disclaimers that its models were designed for rapid decision-making under imperfect data and that inputs were “likely to be wrong.”
By 2024 and 2025, Covid Act Now had largely paused regular updates and archived much of its content due to data limitations.
Whether Alaska voters are ready to elevate a former legislator and Covid-era policy influencer to the governor’s office is a question the coming campaign will test. Already in the race in his Democrat lane is Sen. Matt Claman and Anchorage singer-songwriter Tom Begich. It’s just as likely that he is elevating his political profile for a chance to be lieutenant governor.
13 thoughts on “Former Democratic lawmaker Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins expected to announce run for governor”
JKT went to Yale, so he is obviously superior to the unwashed who did not. When Covid hit, as a legislator, he promoted Covid Act Now in at least one committee meeting. I never found evidence that he had made the necessary conflict-of-interest disclosures whilst promoting the alarmist computer model. Maybe he did but I could not find them.
JKT’s entry complicates things for the Left. They hate competition and open processes. I am sure he will drop out or play other games. They don’t want to mess up the effort to elect stealth leftist/labor candidate “Click” Bishop.
Don’t worry JMark. Everything you need to know about Clicky will be coming out.
Guaranteed.
What’s wrong with Sitka AK? Is it too expensive too for him to had continued living on Sitka. He was one if its community leaders. The only thing he contributed to Sitka was make it more expensive that Southeast Democrats are moving northward to Anchorage and Southcentral because its not ridiculously expensive.
You know how much a two bedroom monthly Electric bill in Sitka is 800.00!!! You know how much a friend and her husband are paying to keep electricity on their boat to light one single lightbulb. 200 per month for one light bulb.
It’s too bad he and others from Southeast are here. But I’m thankful that’s one less stupid Democrat out of my beloved Sitka Ak.
I worked, went to college, met and married my wife and we had our first child in Sitka. Absolutely loved living there but moved in the late 70s. I have friends there still and have been told that it is no longer a blue collar friendly town but is left-leaning and tourist oriented city.
As for the young fellow: funny how so many lefties have hyphenated names. Their parents must have though it made their child sound more sophisticated… even English.
Damn, another hyphenated hero…
.
Gonna need re-education camps to help folks apprreciate -and obey- Alaska’s new generation of hyphenated heroes, no?
Gotta have your LGBTQ candidates. Does the governor’s mansion have “theirs” bathrooms?
No …they’ll be hyphenated
Theirs-ours-its. That guy can either sit, or stand until performance is completed. She-he will aim to pleeze.
Will he be wearing his dress and heels to the drag debates?
JKT was at least an approachable, and somewhat pragmatic legislator. I worked for Sen Shower on election reform and his staff was great to work with and not terribly dogmatic. We actually crafted legislation we both could live with, until it was hijacked on the senate floor and killed by the Sponsor himself, Sen Shower. I’m glad to have more Dem competition in the race, as they are starting to act like the dumb republicans! Pig pile on a race.
You are the kind of Alaskan who put the leaders into office who raises prices on the people then you complain about it
You don’t know as much as you think you know
The legislature circle is only approachable to one another. But JTK is as pompous as his Yale degree and he only hands out with other people of equal standing. You would know that if you were not in the legislature circle. Problem with staying in the circle is the people are blind to one another.
Hyphenated name–pinnacle sign of narcissism.