Alaska Democrats sue to kick their own incarcerated candidate off the ballot

Alaska Democrats have mounted a lawsuit against one of their colleagues as they fight to take an imprisoned congressional candidate off the state’s election ballot.

The Alaska Democratic Party sued the Alaska Division of Elections on Wednesday to keep Eric Hafner off the November ballot, according to the Alaska Beacon.

Although Hafner is running for Alaska’s sole House seat as a member of their party, top Democratic leaders in the state are furious at Hafner, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York.

“This is about someone who is incarcerated, an unqualified candidate that shouldn’t have been moved onto the ballot,” said Lindsay Kavanaugh, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party. Hafner is formerly a New Jersey resident who was arrested after threatening officials in the state.

Democratic leaders in the state have coalesced around incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola's (D-AK) bid to defeat Hafner, as well as two other independent and Republican challengers on Election Day.

Hafner came in sixth place during the August primary election but qualified to appear on the November ballot for the state’s “final four” general election after two GOP candidates withdrew from the race.

Nick Begich came in second during the at-large primary last month, emerging as the top GOP challenger to the winner, Peltola. Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Matt Salisbury dropped out following the primary to unite behind Begich’s bid to flip the Alaska House seat red. Third-party candidate John Wayne Howe is also on the ballot this fall.

As Peltola faces a tight race to defeat Begich, her allies are frustrated that she’s fending off another challenge from an incarcerated Democrat who has never lived in Alaska and isn’t set to be released from federal prison in New York until 2036.

In their lawsuit, Alaska Democrats argued Hafner’s candidacy violates the Constitution’s residency clause for congressional candidates.

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Attorney Scott Kendall, who is an expert on election law in Alaska, warned the clock is ticking on Democratic efforts to block Hafner.

“I would say if they don’t have an answer a week from today, I don’t think they’re getting an answer,” he said on Wednesday as Democrats await a response from the Anchorage Superior Court.