Inmate serving 20-year term in New York secures spot on Alaska’s U.S. House seat ballot

Eric Hafner, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New Jersey for threatening officials, has unexpectedly secured a spot on Alaska’s general election ballot for the state’s singular U.S. House seat in November. Hafner, convicted in 2022 for threatening judges and law enforcement officers, managed to clinch a position on the ballot following the withdrawal of Republican Matthew Salisbury and Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom from the race. Despite finishing sixth in Alaska’s ranked-choice primary, he will compete in the upcoming election alongside Alaskan Independence Party chairman John Wayne Howe, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, and Republican Nick Begich. Peltola emerged as the primary’s top vote-getter among 12 candidates, followed by Begich and Dahlstrom, endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Hafner had received only 0.43% of the primary vote.

In Alaska, there are no laws prohibiting felons from running for office, hence both Hafner and former President Trump will feature on the ballot. Nevertheless, Alaska state law mandates that an elected U.S. representative must be a resident of the state. Hafner, who lacks any apparent connections to Alaska, is incarcerated at a federal prison in Otisville, New York until his scheduled release on October 12, 2036. Due to the absence of federal prisons in Alaska, even if he were to win the election, he would be unable to fulfill the residency requirement.

Hafner’s candidacy in Alaska is not his first endeavor to secure a congressional seat, as he has previously made unsuccessful runs for office in Hawaii and Oregon. Moreover, in recent years, he has launched multiple unsuccessful federal lawsuits, purporting to be a candidate in congressional races in states including New Mexico, Nevada, and Vermont.