Alaska House races intensify with fiscal crisis

PETERSBURG — With the state fiscal crisis swallowing Alaska's political debate since 2014, the Alaska House races in Districts 35 and 36 are being fought on almost identical grounds.

House District 35 includes the northern and more populated half of Prince of Wales Island.

While Ketchikan's Rep. Dan Ortiz is an independent, both he and Rep. Jonathan Kreiss Tomkins, D-Sitka, are members of the Alaska House minority caucus. They won their races after unlikely campaigns as political underdogs. Kreiss-Tomkins was first elected in 2012, while Ortiz won his first race in 2014. Both had reputations f...