Only a week before the general election on Nov. 5, candidates are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the final days of their campaigns. Reports filed Monday with the Alaska Public Office Commission show Kenai Peninsula candidates spending over $140,000 across only three weeks this month.
Candidates were required to file disclosure forms with the commission describing their campaign income and expenditures seven days before the election. Monday’s reports describe campaign earning and spending from Oct. 5 to Oct. 26.
This is the fourth major drop of campaign finance reports this year, following 30-day and seven-day reports ahead of the State primary election and a 30-day report ahead of the general election filed earlier this month.
Senate District D
Incumbent Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, has represented Senate District D since 2022, covering the northern Kenai Peninsula including Kenai, Soldotna and Nikiski. He’s raised $143,000 as of Oct. 26 and has spent $136,000.
Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, who is challenging Bjorkman for Senate District D rather than seeking reelection to his seat for House District 8, has so far raised $83,000 and spent $61,000.
In the recent period, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 26, Bjorkman spent $33,000. His largest expense is radio advertising — over $11,000 spent with KSRM Radio Group and nearly $3,000 with PRG Radio Group in Homer. He’s also spent $9,000 with Nikiski-based Jenness Graphic Design and $7,000 with A.T. Publishing & Printing in Anchorage.
Carpenter in the same window spent $18,000. Like Bjorkman, the bulk of his spending is on radio advertising — nearly $4,000 each to Peninsula Communication in Homer and KSRM. He’s also spent over $5,000 on social media advertising through Anchorage-based Denali Strategies and over $1,000 on postage stamps.
Tina Wegener, a Sterling Democrat also running for the seat, has reported no activity, no earnings and no expenditures for each of her reports.
House District 7
Incumbent Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, represents House District 7, which covers Kenai and Soldotna. He brought in $50,000 and spent $35,000.
Of that, around $7,500 was spent this period, nearly $6,000 with KSRM and over $1,000 on mailers through Docupost.
Challenging Ruffridge for the seat is former Rep. Ron Gillham, R-Soldotna, who held the seat from 2020-2022, when he was unseated by Ruffridge. He’s reported nearly $20,000 raised and $17,000 spent. He spent $5,000 on radio advertising — over $3,000 with KSRM and over $1,000 with Peninsula Radio Group — and nearly $2,000 to Denali Strategies for design of both mobile and radio ads. He describes further an outstanding debt of $3,000 to Denali Strategies.
House District 8
Two candidates are currently seeking election to the House District 8 seat, which covers Nikiski, Sterling and Cooper Landing. Bill Elam, a Soldotna Republican currently on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, and John Hillyer, a Soldotna Republican and a retired Air Force pilot, are vying for the seat vacated by Carpenter.
Hillyer leads fundraising with over $25,000 raised and $18,000 spent. This period, he’s spent only $3,000 — over half of that total on radio ads with KSRM and nearly $1,000 on stamps and mailers.
Elam has brought in $19,000 and dropped $18,000. On his way to spending $7,000 this period he purchased over $4,000 in radio advertising with KSRM and nearly $2,000 with A.T. Publishing and Printing.
House District 6
There are two challengers facing incumbent Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, for House District 6, which covers the southern Kenai Peninsula and includes Homer, Anchor Point and Kasilof. Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Brent Johnson, running nonpartisan, and Dawson Slaughter, an Anchor Point Republican and president of the Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce, are vying for the seat.
Vance has raised $59,000 and spent $52,000. This period, she reports over $40,000 in expenses, the largest spend of any candidate on the Kenai Peninsula.
Radio advertising makes up the bulk of that total, with Peninsula Radio Group and KSRM both receiving $13,000. Vance also describes roughly $10,000 spent on mailers with A.T. Publishing & Printing and nearly $3,000 spent with Peninsula Clarion parent company Sound Publishing for print advertising.
Johnson leads fundraising in the race with an $81,000 total income and expenses of $65,000. He spent $19,000 this period, with the largest value — roughly $5,000 — going to campaign manager Ronald Meehan. Johnson also reports $4,000 spent on Facebook advertising through David Song in Seattle and $4,500 spent on campaign mailers through AMS Communications in Dallas.
Slaughter has brought in over $6,000 and spent nearly $6,000. This period, he describes $500 in expenses, $497 of which was spent with Peninsula Clarion parent company Sound Publishing for newspaper advertising.
House District 5
Seward resident Leighton Radner, a registered member of the Libertarian party, is running against incumbent Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, for House District 5, which includes Seward as well as other communities not on the Kenai Peninsula like Kodiak and Cordova.
Radner raised $1,100 and spent $100, though he describes no income or expenses for the current period.
Stutes has secured $20,000 and spent $8,000. This period she spent around $5,000, largely for campaign expenses in Cordova and Seward — including lodging and a rental car.
Full APOC reports can be found online by searching online for “apoc reports” and reaching the “APOC Reports Home Page” at aws.state.ak.us.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
