Independent Bill Hill has placed a strong second in Alaska’s top-four primary for the state’s sole U.S. House seat, capturing over 30 percent of the vote after the leading Democrat in the race suspended his campaign and endorsed him ahead of the election.
Unofficial results published by the Alaska Division of Elections show Hill with 40,220 votes, or 30.9 percent, behind incumbent Republican Nick Begich with 60,061 votes and 46.1 percent. Despite trailing Begich, Hill finished well ahead of Democrat Matt Schultz, who suspended his campaign in July to endorse Hill but still received 8 percent. Democrat Eric Hafner placed fourth with 3.8 percent.
Hill, who launched his campaign in January, is a commercial fisherman and former Bristol Bay schools superintendent from Naknek. His campaign has focused heavily on the cost of living, including grocery prices and the effects of tariffs, while leaning into issues closely tied to Alaska’s fishing and resource economy. Hill has also called for changes to trawl fishing practices and has opposed the proposed Pebble mine.
Hill is among several independents this cycle who have benefited as Democrats experiment with supporting candidates outside their party in traditionally Republican-leaning states. Other major examples include independent Senate candidates Dan Osborn in Nebraska, Todd Achilles in Idaho, Brian Bengs in South Dakota, and Seth Bodnar in Montana, although the extent of state Democratic support has varied. Hill has said he is unlikely to caucus with Republicans if elected but has notably stopped short of committing to caucusing with Democrats.
That strategy similarly came to life in Alaska last month, when Schultz suspended his campaign and endorsed Hill despite polling ahead of him. A statewide Independent Center Voice poll conducted immediately before his withdrawal showed Schultz at 32 percent and Hill at 20 percent, while Begich led both at 46 percent. Regardless, Schultz called on Democrats, independents, and other voters looking to remove Begich from office to rally behind Hill.
Schultz later told state media he lacked a viable financial path forward and expressed disappointment over the lack of institutional support for his campaign. The Alaska Democratic Party reportedly declined to endorse him at its April convention in Cordova, while major labor organizations like the AFL-CIO opted to instead support Hill. Schultz remained on the primary ballot and said at the time he intends to withdraw from the general election field once the results are final.
Alaska uses a single primary in which candidates of all affiliations compete on the same ballot and voters select one candidate. The top four—in this situation, Begich, Hill, Schultz, and Hafner—advance to the November general election, where voters then rank them in order of preference. If Schultz follows through on his planned withdrawal by the state deadline, fifth-place Democrat John Williams, who received 2.6 percent, would advance in his place.
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