Alaska state Sen. Lyman Hoffman of Bethel has filed for re-election. The Alaska Division of Elections certified Hoffman’s candidacy on May 20. The Democratic incumbent is currently running unopposed in the primary election to represent Alaska Senate District S.
The district spans the lower Kuskokwim River area, the Bristol Bay region, and the Aleutian Islands. Hoffman is the state’s longest serving legislator, and has held his current seat for nearly 30 years. Before serving in the Senate, he represented the Bethel region in the state House for six years.
Bethel area Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky announced over Facebook on May 20 that she will not seek reelection. “I want to be able to spend more time closer to home, around friends and loved ones, and return to working directly for the health and well-being of the YK Delta,” she wrote. Zulkosky works as the Vice President of Communications for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel. She held her state House seat for District 38 since 2018.
Currently, there are no candidates running to represent the Bethel area in the state House. But Bethel Mayor Mark Springer has filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The letter allows candidates to begin receiving campaign contributions, but he has not yet registered as a candidate with the state Division of Elections.
The deadline to file as a candidate for the state primary election is less than two weeks away, on June 1.
The state primary election is August 16, 2022.
