All nine Democrats and eight of the 11 Republicans elected to the Alaska Senate said that they're forming a bipartisan majority coalition to be led by Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, as Senate president.
Senator Gary Stevens , the presumptive Senate president, fifth from left, speaks during a press conference announcing the formation of a bipartisan Senate majority on Friday at the Legislative Information Office in Anchorage. Eight Republicans and nine Democrats agreed to form the majority. From left: Senator-elect Löki Tobin , Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson , Senator-elect Matt Claman , Senator-elect Cathy Giessel , Sen.
Kodiak Republican Sen. Gary Stevens announced that he would serve as Senate president. The decision will not be final until lawmakers gather in Juneau in January and vote on it. In the 20-person Senate, 11 votes are needed to elect a leader and conduct business. Giessel, who previously served as Senate president, was reelected this year to the Senate after losing the Republican primary in 2020 to a challenger from the right.
All members of the binding caucus will be required to vote in favor of the budget, as has been the rule in the past. “We know all the important things. We haven’t sat down and agreed to those goals yet. We will do that,” Stevens said. “Just off the top of my head, it will deal with energy, education, budget, infrastructure — all those important things.”
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