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Margaret Stock, Independent Candidate For U.S. Senate, Speaks About Rural Alaskan Issues

Ralph Radford

Attorney Margaret Stock, an independent, will be on the November ballot along with Republican Lisa Murkowski and whoever gains the Democratic nomination.  Stock may not live in rural Alaska, but she can talk the talk about local issues like fisheries and the Donlin Gold mine. To get elected, she'll have to convince voters to support a new national movement of independents. 

When asked how Stock could compete with opponent Lisa Murkowski's already broad-based support, Stock said, “Well I’m not afraid of her money. I think we’ve seen in this presidential election cycle that the person with the most money doesn’t necessarily win the election or end up competing effectively.”

Rural Alaskans may find Stock's political strategy familiar; it sounds much like that of Bernie Sanders, who did better than any other candidate in the region.   

Stock used to be a Republican, but is running as an independent this season because, like Sanders, she feels that partisanship has caused gridlock in Washington. This has also gained her the endorsement of the Centrist Program, a group that wants to establish an independent presence in the Senate - though Stock is the only candidate they have endorsed so far this year. She's betting that Murkowski's record makes her vulnerable.

“I think Alaska voters are interested in a change. I think they’re tired of Sen. Murkowski’s broken promises," said Stock. 

When asked what promises Stock thought Murkowski hadn't kept, Stock said, "Her comment to renewable energy in rural Alaska has been relatively weak. The energy bill that she’s touting is probably not going to pass and it does very little to address the fundamental issues that are happening in rural Alaska, like climate change. She’s been a denier on the climate change issue and Alaskans are all looking around them; they know what’s happening.”

Stock says that rural Alaskans will know her from her work as a lawyer.

“I’ve done legal work over the years for the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation. I’ve handled a lot of cases for people in Bethel," Stock says. 

Stock cites issues such as the Donlin Gold mine, the local commercial fishing crisis, and the growing heroin problem as ones she will be better suited to solve as an independent, though if she wins she would have to choose a party to caucus with come November. She says that she would commit to the party that was best for Alaska, but whether or not rural Alaskans will commit to her remains to be seen.