Nine Republican district chairs from across Alaska, stretching from Kenai to Fairbanks, have formally objected to the sudden leadership reorganization carried out Saturday night by members of the Alaska House GOP minority.
The objections, framed as “condemning” the actions of the members, arrive as internal backlash grows over the decision by just 10 lawmakers to elevate Rep. DeLena Johnson to minority leader and Rep. Justin Ruffridge to whip in a hastily called Zoom meeting on Saturday night.
In a letter addressed to Johnson, the district chairs criticized the process as rushed, opaque, and fundamentally at odds with the party’s stated commitment to fair elections.
They noted that several GOP legislators reported either receiving notice of the meeting only after it had concluded or being unable to attend because of the short timeframe. The meeting was called with just minutes of warning.
“As Republicans we support fair elections on every level,” the letter states, emphasizing that leadership elections require adequate notice to all eligible members. The chairs urged Johnson to wait until the two vacant Mat-Su House seats — District 26 and District 29 — are filled in the coming weeks before attempting another leadership vote. Those vacancies were created when Cathy Tilton and George Rauscher were appointed to the Senate last week.
The letters were signed by District 30 Chair Andrew Traxler, District 29 Chair Casey Campbell, District 27 Eli Graber, District 26 Chair Amy Demboski, District 8 Chair Robert Wall, District 9 Chair Nikki Rose, and District 23 Chair Stephen Romanelli, District 34 Sally Duncan, District 36 Josiah Henry. Additional districts are expected to register objections in the coming days.
Their pushback follows a fast-moving and increasingly contentious chain of events inside the House minority. Late Saturday, Johnson convened the minority caucus with little notice and secured enough votes to replace recently ousted minority leader Mia Costello. Ruffridge, who has seldom participated in minority caucus activities, was chosen as whip.
The reorganization immediately deepened fractures within the caucus. Some members are threatening to leave the group, saying the manner in which the vote was conducted was unacceptable. Others said they did not see the meeting notice in time or were unaware that an election would take place, including Rep. Frank Tomaszewski of Fairbanks, who was in the middle of a fundraiser.
Shocker: Republican minority in House organize with Rep. DeLena Johnson as leader, Ruffridge as whip
The timing also angered several Mat-Su Republican Party officers, whose districts had formally asked the caucus to delay any reorganization until their two new House members were selected. Instead, three Valley-area Republicans — Jubilee Underwood, Elexie Moore, and Johnson — moved forward without them, effectively cutting off representation from two of the most reliably conservative districts in the state, districts that are in the six-member Valley caucus.
The internal turmoil has revived suspicions that the real objective of the shake-up may be to reconstitute a centrist governing bloc resembling the old “muskox coalition,” blending moderate Republicans and Democrats to form a majority. Ruffridge’s selection amplified those concerns among conservatives wary of another cross-party alignment.
The minority is functionally down to about 15 members as of this writing. It needs to maintain 10 to have official caucus status. Though the reorganization stands for now, the objections coming from multiple districts signal that the dispute is widening beyond the elected members and into the broader Republican grassroots.
What began as a Saturday-night maneuver to install new leadership is rapidly turning into a party-wide challenge over process, transparency, and the direction of the GOP’s House delegation.
Pam Melin, president of Valley Republican Women of Alaska, wrote a scathing column earlier on Monday about the process; she reiterated some of the same points made by the District chairs in their pointed letters.
More district chairs are expected to speak out as the Mat-Su prepares to select nominees for its two vacant House seats on Dec. 7.
Pam Melin: Unity isn’t the problem; silence is. And Alaska has paid the price
4 thoughts on “Nine Republican district officers send stern letters to House GOP leadership regarding reorganization maneuvers”
The letters mean nothing when the staff of the AKGOP and committee members don’t lead
To be honest Eventhough fmr chair Randy Ruedrich wasn’t the best chair for a more smaller government Republican leadership; at least his leadership kept egotistical elect leaders under more control Eventhough it moved Alaska across the center line toward the left and toward a bigger government and increasing Alaskans government dependency
The current republicans today whom support such R leaders Rufferidge, Johnson, Costello, or elect no longer in office as Millet, they all are government, they’d have a hard time maintaining the standard of living they are accustomed to if it wasn’t for their government employment and I’m not talking about the pay collected for serving as a legislature. I’m talking about personal employments. They can’t do anything outside of government.
Although I’d like to see a government dependent such as those guys try to successfully manage a hotel of 200-500 rooms as a GM though or a back of house executive housekeeper without frustrating guests and their employees to where the owners fire them for poor management.
Working in a government paid office is three hours of work stretched over eight hours for a pay quadrulpled what the average Alaskan earns in the private sector providing a monetary service to the state and doing more work in the same time period
Only 26% are upset — that’s not anywhere close to a quorum, and certainly not a mandate. A handful of district chairs objecting to a closed-door, last-minute shuffle doesn’t exactly scream “the will of the people.”
Let’s be honest: backroom deals are a hallmark of both parties, and this situation is a perfect example. The outrage seems selective, surfacing only when the outcome isn’t what a faction of the party wanted.
Meanwhile, the majority of Alaskans aren’t Republican at all. Most are independents. That’s exactly why ranked choice voting works here — it prevents any one party from ramming through whoever they want without broader voter support.
Voters have repeatedly shown they prefer a system that forces candidates to earn support outside their bubble. If the Alaska GOP is upset that 10 of their own caucus members reorganized leadership without warning, maybe they should take a look in the mirror: the same people criticizing transparency are perfectly fine with it when it benefits them.
Ranked choice didn’t create this fracture — the GOP did. And until the party reflects the actual electorate of Alaska, not just its loudest internal faction, these meltdowns will keep happening.
The public unions are laughing all the way to their little piggy banks stuffed with PFD and soon to be income tax dollars.
And so much for the Alaska Republican Party being able to clamor for fair elections. The Judas loving hypocrites just demolished that plank.