Jim McDermott, a Libertarian from Fairbanks, makes top four for Alaska’s U.S. House race

On the morning after he became one of four finalists in the race for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, Libertarian candidate Jim McDermott had to apologize.

He didn’t have much time to talk, he said, because he was busy working as a school tutor at Fort Wainwright, in his home town of Fairbanks.

McDermott, a Libertarian, became an unlikely figure in Alaska’s U.S. House race after four different candidates — three Democrats and a Republican — quit the contest, which put the eighth-place candidate into the last spot in Alaska’s top-four general election.

McDermott said he first learned about his finalist status from the Alaska Beacon.

On Tuesday morning, he said he feels as if Americans are developing a desire for a third party, an option that isn’t Democratic or Republican.

“I’ve been telling the Libertarian Party, ‘Guys, gals, this is our time,’” he said. “And now I see this. I feel like God’s hand is at work here. Here I am now in fourth. I was in eighth. I’m like, ‘How in the world did I get the fourth?’ So I’ll take it.” 

McDermott was endorsed by the Alaska Libertarian Party, which advocates for individual freedoms, limited government and a free-market economy. It is the third-largest political party in Alaska, with more than 6,000 members.

Under Alaska’s elections system, the top four primary election candidates, regardless of party, advance to the general election in November.

There, voters are asked to rank the four finalists (and a write-in candidate, if wanted) in order of preference. If one candidate gets more than 50% of the first-place votes, they win.

If no one has more than 50%, the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. Any voter who picked them has their vote instead go to their second choice.

The process of elimination continues until only two candidates are left, and the one with the most votes wins.

In certified results for the August primary, Republican incumbent Rep. Nick Begich III had 44.6% of the vote, followed by independent challenger Bill Hill with 32.5%. Democratic challenger Matt Schultz was third but suspended his campaign before the primary and withdrew ahead of Monday’s deadline, which put Democratic candidate Eric Hafner in the third slot instead.

“I’ll gladly run against these wonderful people. They’re good people. They have good hearts for the most part,” McDermott said.

Hafner is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison for threatening public officials while living overseas. He has never lived in Alaska and — barring a pardon — cannot live here if elected.

Two years ago, an Alaska state judge ruled that while it is unlikely that Hafner could serve if elected, neither Alaska law nor the U.S. Constitution prohibit him from running for office.

The Alaska Supreme Court has not taken up the issue.

Hafner earned 3.8% of the vote in the August primary and will be the sole Democrat on the ballot in November.

The fourth spot on the ballot could have gone to two different Democrats — including one whose listed address is in Massachusetts — or a Republican, but each of those candidates withdrew from the race before a Monday deadline.

That left McDermott, who earned 1.2% of the vote — 1,951 votes out of 162,932 in the race — enough for eighth place among 15 candidates in the primary. 

This is McDermott’s second run for Alaska’s U.S. House seat. In 2014, he received 7.61% of the vote in the general election. Republican incumbent Rep. Don Young won the race with 51% of the vote; Democratic challenger Forrest Dunbar finished second.

McDermott’s website from that campaign is still active, and as he spoke Tuesday, his stated policy priorities weren’t significantly different from what they were back then.

“I would look for more independence for people, and when I’m talking about that, it’s very simple. I’m just looking at less laws that are in place that hinder small businesses, hinder big businesses, but I kind of lean towards the small business,” he said.

McDermott favors term limits and was noncommittal about whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans in the U.S. House if elected.

“I would look for like-minded (people). I know I’m not going to be very popular with either group,” he said. “I’m a Libertarian. Personal liberties are our No. 1 core, and that’s what I’m going to be driving home.”

The U.S. House is closely divided between Republican and Democratic control, and Alaska is one of a relative handful of tossup states that could decide control of the House.

A former noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, McDermott stayed in Alaska after his last tour of duty brought him to Anchorage. After 15 years in that city, he moved to Fairbanks in 2006 and has lived there ever since, working at the University of Alaska and in a variety of other roles.

McDermott said he’s looking forward to campaigning and introducing himself to Alaskans.

“I have a pretty decent resume, and so I’d love to give it a shot,” he said.