Federal prisoner advances in Alaska U.S. House primary

JUNEAU, Alaska -- A man who is serving time in a federal prison in New York advanced on Wednesday from the primary for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat.

Eric Hafner, a registered Democrat, also ran for the seat in 2024 and secured a spot on the general election ballot that November despite a challenge brought by the Alaska Democratic Party.

Hafner pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges of making threats against police officers, judges and others. He is set to be released in 2036.

The leading candidates in the race are the incumbent, Republican Rep. Nick Begich, and independent Bill Hill, a commercial fisherman and retired educator.

Hafner’s success in the primary as one of the candidates moving on to the general election is almost certain to draw another legal challenge because the U.S. Constitution requires candidates to live in the state they will represent at the time of the election.

In the candidate information he filed with the state, he listed the same Box Elder, South Dakota, mailing address and New York phone number as his mother, Carol Hafner. Neither has any apparent ties to Alaska.

Carol Hafner also is a failed prior candidate and ran again this year, this time in the state’s U.S. Senate primary.

Under Alaska’s election system, the top four primary finishers advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Eric Hafner had received 5,757 votes after 93% of ballots had been counted. That was far behind the third-place candidate, Democrat Matt Schultz. But Schultz withdrew from the general election and was ineligible to advance.

It remained too early to call the fourth-place finisher.