A man serving 20 years in a New York state prison for threatening public officials has been allowed to run for Congress in Alaska, where he could influence a key race in the battle for control of the House.
Eric Hafner, 33, pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges of threatening police officers, judges and others in New Jersey.
However, despite never having set foot in the state, he is running for Alaska’s at-large congressional seat against incumbent Democrat Mary Peltolta and Republican Nick Begich.
In September, State Superior Court Judge Ian Wheeles in Anchorage denied a request by the Alaska Democratic Party to remove Eric Hafner from the November ballot.
He presents himself as a Democrat who says of Peltolta: “I really don’t care that she doesn’t get re-elected.”
Eric Hafner, a man serving 20 years in a New York state prison for threatening public officials, has been allowed to run for Congress in Alaska, where he could influence a key race in the battle for control of the House.
Republican House candidate Nick Begich and Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola shake hands after a debate.
Hafner ran as a Republican for Congress in Hawaii in 2016 and as a Democrat in Oregon in 2018. His mother Carol, who has also never visited Alaska, ran for the same seat in 2018.
In 2022, he pleaded guilty to sending telephone and email threats to judges, police and lawyers while living in Ireland between 2016 and 2018. He also made false bomb threats.
With the Republican Party currently holding an eight-seat majority in the House of Representatives, Peltolta’s right-wing seat could be the key to whoever takes power next January.
Alaska has an open primary system, allowing the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, to advance to the general election in order of voting.
Hafner originally finished sixth in the primary, with just 467 votes, but was placed on the general election ballot after two Republicans, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Matthew Salisbury, who placed third and fourth, respectively, dropped out.
Peltola, Begich and Dahlstrom were the top candidates in the race, receiving a combined 97.4% of the vote.
Matt Shuckerow, a Republican strategist in Alaska, called his chances of hurting Peltolta “legitimate and real.”
“This is an extremely close race and every vote will count,” he added.
With the Republican Party currently holding an eight-seat majority in the House of Representatives, Peltolta’s right-wing seat could be the key to whoever takes power next January.
Hafner pleads not guilty in the case and says he is in prison because he took a plea deal while suffering from mental health problems caused by poor treatment in jail and poor legal advice, according to the New York Times.
The issues that affect the State (climate change, conservation and indigenous rights) coincide with those that matter most to it.
If he wins, he plans to apply for his release and move to Alaska.
“I didn’t expect things to turn out the way they did, like everyone was spending all this money to get me off the ballot,” he said. “If it blows up in their faces, great.”
Lawyers for the Alaska Democratic Party said state election officials erred in putting Hafner on the ballot and that he was not eligible to serve in Congress.
They also said his presence on the ballot would complicate the party’s efforts to win Peltola’s re-election.
“It will confuse voters by presenting them with a candidate, purportedly a Democrat, whom plaintiffs do not support and who would have no right to serve if elected,” party attorneys David Fox and Thomas Amodio said in a court filing.
Members of the House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, have been U.S. citizens for at least seven years, and be residents of the state in which they are running when elected.
Peltola, Begich and a former lieutenant governor were the top candidates in the race, receiving a combined 97.4% of the vote.
Begich looks to turn state red again after Peltolta upset win in 2022
Four of the 12 candidates in the Alaska House primary, including Hafner, listed out-of-state campaign addresses.
Hafner’s declaration of candidacy, filed with the state Division of Elections, lists a federal prison in New York as his current mailing address.
In a brief order, a divided court upheld a lower court’s ruling in a case brought by the Alaska Democratic Party; Judge Susan Carney disagreed.
Peltola is seeking to fend off GOP efforts to recapture the seat that Republican Rep. Don Young held for 49 years before his death in 2022.
Peltola, who is Yup’ik, won special and regular elections for the seat that year and became the first Alaska Native in Congress.
Begich, who has been endorsed in this race by former President Donald Trump, was among the opponents Peltola defeated in 2022.
Peltola has tried to distance himself from presidential politics, refusing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris and saying he will not vote for Trump.
During the debate, he said he doesn’t see the world through a partisan lens and focuses on his own race. He declined to say whether he would vote for Harris.
