National political groups aligned with the Democratic and Republican parties are increasingly flooding Alaska with ads in the U.S. House race, a sign that the contest between independent Bill Hill and Republican freshman incumbent Nick Begich is seen as increasingly competitive.

In a key move, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the national campaign arm for U.S. House Democrats, said Tuesday that it was adding Hill to its “Red to Blue” program that seeks to shift control of Congress into Democratic hands.

National Republican PACs are also turning their attention to the race, including groups aligned with President Donald Trump’s $400 million Maga Inc. super PAC.

Begich, a member of Alaska’s politically prominent Begich family who has been recognized for his unusual record of getting bills passed, beat Hill by a solid 12 points in the August primary election, taking 44.6% to Hill’s 32.5%.

Hill, a Dena’ina Athabascan, commercial fisherman and former rural Alaska superintendent, has never run for statewide office.

Key Republican groups pounced immediately after the announcement, attacking Hill as a Democrat in hiding.

The Republican National Committee, the governing body for the U.S. Republican Party, immediately jumped on the news, calling it proof that Hill is solidly a Democrat though he’s running as an independent.

“There is zero doubt now that Bill Hill is and always was a Democrat,” said Nick Poche, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee. “Hill would be a reliable vote for the far-left Lower 48 agenda and will never put Alaskans first.”

Hill’s campaign said this week that the Democratic committee’s support shows Alaska’s race is one of the nation’s most competitive.

Hill declined a request for an interview Thursday, but his campaign provided a statement from him.

“I welcome the support from anyone in any party who wants to see better representation for Alaska,” he said. “This is a big tent coalition that includes independents, Democrats, and Republicans who agree we need to see a change.”

He declined to directly answer which party he would caucus with if he’s elected.

“My position on this is the same: Congress is broken, the two party system isn’t working, and members of Congress are lining their own pockets instead of getting things done,” he said. “We need to change how DC is working and start putting our government to work for working families again. I want to see multipartisan coalitions, like we have here in Alaska. I believe a small group of Independents in Congress could make a huge difference in making this happen. Nobody is happy with how things are going.”

A narrower field

Hill is the clear lead challenger to Begich after the August primary.

The sprawling 15-candidate field in that contest has been narrowed to just four candidates for the general election in November under Alaska’s ranked choice voting system.

That leaves many votes up for grabs, especially after the withdrawal of the leading Democratic candidate, Anchorage pastor Matt Schultz, who had 8.1% of the primary vote.

Schultz’s decision left Eric Hafner, an incarcerated New York felon who earned 3.8% of the vote, as the only Democrat on the November ballot. Fairbanks Libertarian Jim McDermott will also appear on the ballot after receiving 1.2% of the vote.

The Alaska Democratic Party, which endorsed Hill, has said it has not and will not support Hafner.

Schultz, who ended his campaign following a lack of institutional support from the Democratic Party, declined to be interviewed for this story.

Political observers have also said many more voters will turn out for the general election, potentially shifting the outcome.

An official with the Begich campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Support from Democratic committee

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee described Hill as a “top-tier candidate” who is “within striking distance” of Begich, and said it would throw it’s fundraising and organizational support behind Hill.

The committee said in a statement that Begich is vulnerable in part because in 2024 he beat Peltola by just over two percentage points, though Donald Trump won the state by 13 points.

“Recent polls show a margin of error race, with Bill leading on favorability,” the committee said. “In a state where over 60% of voters identify as Independent, Bill is building the coalition and record-breaking resources needed to win.”

The House Majority PAC, which is allied with the Democratic committee, said this week it was launching new TV and digital ads in 15 congressional districts across the country, including in Alaska to support Hill.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which seeks to get Republicans elected to the House, also used the news to tie Hill to Democrats.

“Bill Hill’s true party just attempted to ram through articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, and in doing so, provided the American people with a small preview of exactly what a Democrat majority would deliver: endless impeachments, manufactured chaos, and a smokescreen for their far-left socialist agenda,” the Republican committee said in a statement.

Though Hill does not affiliate with a political party, federal records show that in recent years he has donated $100 each to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris; independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats; and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat.

He has not given to any other federal candidates in recent years. Ahead of the 2022 election, he gave $3,500 to Democratic Alaska gubernatorial candidate Les Gara.

Art Hackney, a political consultant who often works for Republican candidates and plans to place some radio ads for Begich in the general election, said spending in both the state’s U.S. House and Senate races could approach record levels of spending.

“It’s because the Alaska race for both Senate, House are viewed as pivotal and financially doable,” he said. “So there’s the best and the brightest on both sides. This entire state is covered with people from both parties and people representing groups that support one party or the other, who are knocking on doors, making phone calls and burning up the tracks. It gets back to one very basic tenet of politics, which is it all ultimately comes down to shoe leather.”

“If you could actually turn out more people, any party, any candidate could win an election,” he said. “You just have to have the mechanism to turn the people out because there are people who don’t go vote. If you could find a way to get in touch with them, work them all the way through, call them up on Election Day, say you haven’t voted today and get them to go out, you can change any race.”

The Blue Dog PAC, a coalition of moderate Democrats who advocate for fiscal responsibility and on national security issues, also endorsed Hill this week.

Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, now challenging U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year’s election, joined the coalition in 2023 during her full term in Congress.

The U.S. House race is also generating increasing attention from national Republican groups that are spending money in Alaska to boost Begich and hurt Hill.

The Club for Growth Action, a conservative super PAC that has endorsed Begich, said in a statement last week that it launched a new ad against Hill to run statewide on broadcast and streaming platforms, part of $1.2 million in spending in the race by the group.

The No Going Back PAC, a newly registered group aligned with the president’s MAGA Inc. PAC, has also begun sending flyers to Alaska mailboxes supporting Begich.

No Going Back shares the same address and treasurer, Charles Gantt, with the MAGA Inc. PAC

The PAC has booked close to $100 million for ads to boost Republicans in half a dozen key battleground races, the New York Times reported this week.

America First Agriculture Action has also said it recently spent $250,000 on mailings in Alaska to support Begich. The group also shares the same address and treasurer as the MAGA Inc. super PAC.

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