Alaska: Parnell Weighing Rematch With Young

Printer-friendly format
sponsored by

Alaska: Parnell Weighing Rematch With Young

April 2, 2009
By Shira Toeplitz
Roll Call Staff

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R) is considering a primary rematch against Rep. Don Young next year. According to sources close to the lieutenant governor, Parnell is leaving the door open to another bid for Alaska’s at-large seat after he came close to defeating the 19-term lawmaker last year.

Parnell lost the GOP primary by 304 votes in 2008. The sources cautioned, however, that Parnell is far from making a decision about running again.

If Parnell did make another go at the seat, he would likely make an issue of the fact that Republican leaders have taken away Young’s ranking member status on the House Natural Resources Committee and his slot on the Steering Committee. What’s more, Young is still the target of an ongoing federal investigation that so far has yielded no charges.

“Those are two pieces that are missing in the Alaska discussion here and something that he remains very concerned about when it comes to Alaska’s representation,” one GOP source said.