OPINION: Why I decided to end my campaign for Alaska’s House seat
Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 25, 2026
Last week I withdrew from the race for Alaska’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. What a privilege, honor, and joy it was to run. I ran to serve people of Alaska with a campaign rooted in the ethic of “Love your neighbor.” I’m proud that we communicated the people’s desire to re-infuse our politics with integrity, honesty, service, and compassion. We gave voice to Alaskans who too often feel ignored by elected officials, political parties, and institutions that are beholden to wealth and power and ignore ordinary people.
Sadly, I was not joined in this effort by too many institutions within the Democratic Party. My priority was and still is to serve the greater good in this moment in history, when we are facing an existential threat to our democracy from the creeping fascism enabled by the Republican Party. Given the financial forces at play, in order to prevent the Republicans from keeping a House majority, I had to make the right decision at the right time. I had put a lot of time and energy into this campaign — more importantly, so did hundreds of Alaskans — and so it was a tough call. But I remain certain that I made the right decision.
But let me be clear: Shifting to the middle is a bad idea. There is no inherent virtue in occupying the political middle, and in fact the middle is ethically wrong in some of the most important moments in our history. We look back with disdain on those who took a moderate position on slavery in the early days of the U.S., or who sought the middle ground as the Nazis gained power. When history reaches a crucible, moderation is complicity.
It will require a newfound courage, but Alaskan Democrats should stop pandering and start persuading; proclaiming the truths that they have shied away from for too long, such as: The Republican Party is dragging our nation toward enslavement to billionaires. The president of the United States is a rapist, a fraud, is mentally and cognitively unfit, and needs to be impeached. ICE is racist. Oil is burning us down and robbing us blind. The number one cause of death of children in the U.S. is guns. And so many, many more. We deserve a voice in every race that has the courage to speak these truths, and Democrats will never succeed by retreating from them.
Attempting to do so confirms younger generations’ suspicions that Democrats are so afraid to lose that we have forgotten how to fight. These young voters will continue ditching the Dems in droves unless we provide a party worth standing with, and which they trust will stand for them. They want leadership that doesn’t kneel and beg for our rights, but stands and demands them. It’s well past time to show young voters that “we don’t need permission to be free, we only need courage.”
Many people have asked what’s next for me. First and foremost, I have the wonderful problem of having too many thank you notes to write. I’ll continue serving my church, my city, and my state with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love. I’ll continue to work for truth, justice, and the American way by advocating policies based on fact and compassion, and the guiding community ethic of “love your neighbor.” My campaign is over, but my mission remains.
Matt Schultz is an Anchorage pastor and was the Democratic candidate for Alaska’s U.S. House seat.
