June 1, 2026 – Fairbanks Republican Rep. Frank Tomaszewski filed Monday to run for Alaska Senate Seat Q, setting off another round of political musical chairs in an already active Fairbanks election season.
Tomaszewski, who currently represents House District 34, filed for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Robert Myers, a North Pole Republican and member of the Senate minority caucus.
The filing comes amid widespread speculation that Myers will be announced Monday as the lieutenant governor running mate for Attorney General Treg Taylor, who is expected to formally enter the governor’s race before the state’s filing deadline expires.
Update: Myers says he will not be the LG candidate.
Tomaszewski was elected to the House in 2024 and has been considered one of the more conservative members of the Legislature. His move to the Senate would create an open House seat in Fairbanks. Political observers have long expected that his wife, Harmony Tomaszewski, could seek the House seat if it becomes vacant, although no filing had been announced as of Monday morning.
The latest maneuvering adds to a rapidly changing political landscape in the Interior.
Earlier Monday, Fairbanks businessman and University of Alaska regent Seth Church filed to challenge incumbent Rep. Will Stapp in a Republican primary contest for House District 32, creating another high-profile legislative race in the region.
The developments come as candidates scramble to meet the state’s filing deadline. Monday is the final day for candidates to officially file with the Division of Elections and, for gubernatorial candidates, to designate lieutenant governor running mates.
Treg Taylor is among the last major gubernatorial candidates expected to announce a running mate before the deadline.
The governor’s race also shifted Monday when Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced she was ending her campaign, citing the increasingly crowded field.
Dahlstrom’s withdrawal removes one of the better-known Republican candidates from a race that has drawn an unusually large number of contenders and further reshapes the political landscape heading into the Aug. 18 primary election. The race now has 19 entrants, as of publication.
With a Senate seat potentially opening, a House seat likely to become vacant, and multiple contested legislative races emerging in Fairbanks, Interior Alaska is quickly becoming one of the state’s most active political battlegrounds heading into the 2026 election cycle.
9 thoughts on “Musical chairs in Fairbanks: Rep. Tomaszewski files for Alaska Senate Seat Q, Myers retiring”
Senator Myers left a completely safe Senate seat for Treg Taylor who is NOT going to be the next governor. Poor decision. Maybe Dave Bronson will hire you as DOT Commissioner.
I stand corrected. Myers will not be Taylor’s running mate. I’d say Myers has a shot at any Republican governor’s DOT Commissioner. We certainly need a new one.
Tomaszewski will make a great addition to the Senate!
Says NOBODY …
Secretly, since I’m a radical far left-wing Democrat who writes only partisan articles, I have to salute Rob Myers and the Tomaszewskis for a brilliant move. Slipping a Fairbanks area state Senate seat and a House seat into the hands of a conservative married couple at the last possible minute is a political strategy that makes the Petersburg Dan Sullivan snafu look like a junior high prank. Myers and the Tomaszewskis obviously don’t smoke pot or drink like us Democrats.
I was actually thinking about running for one of these seats too, but then I would have to slow down on the bottle, go shake hands with people, and smile. And my life experiences hasn’t taught me to do any of those things very well
Derm the Mutt.
Still Snorting and Farting (lots) From
Alaska.
Myers and Tomaszewski both dunked on you, Derm. Funny as hell, and brilliant.
I thought Derm was pushing daisies with his brothers. What gives?
So, with the “update”, what is Myers going to end up doing, I wonder?
………hauling gasline pipe to Prudhoe Bay.