Calvin Schrage, an independent from Anchorage, will be the next speaker of the Alaska House, chosen by an incoming majority coalition built from independent, Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
The announcement came a day after the Senate's bipartisan coalition named its own leaders. Preliminary results released Wednesday show independent and Democratic candidates ahead in 23 of the House's 40 races, which would give the coalition more room than the 21-member majority that held off a 19-member Republican-led minority in the last Legislature.
Ballots are still being counted, and final results are set to be certified on Nov. 25. The majority coalition controls the House agenda, hands out key committee assignments and decides which bills get considered.
Schrage, 35, was carrying 66.5% of the vote in House District 12 on Wednesday, putting him on course for a fourth term. He has served since 2021, including as minority leader from 2023 to 2024 and House Finance co-chair from 2025 to 2026. He will replace outgoing Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent who is running for the Senate seat covering Western Alaska to the Aleutian Islands.
Pensions, schools and energy
Schrage said the coalition will focus on reviving the public pension system, making education funding stable and predictable, and energy policy. The incoming Senate majority laid out similar priorities, and Schrage framed the state's fiscal instability and rising energy costs as kitchen-table concerns.
The U.S. war on Iran has driven up Alaska's oil revenue, but Schrage warned that high energy prices have also hurt communities and the school system. He said he expects lawmakers and the next governor to face sizable supplemental budget requests for unexpected costs left over from the Dunleavy administration.
I would not be surprised to see significant supplementals emerge through the budgeting process as the new governor steps into his role
Calvin Schrage, incoming Alaska House speaker
The coalition has not formally met with Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, the Democratic frontrunner for governor, who had 49.1% of the vote in a four-way race as of Wednesday.
The rest of the leadership team
Anchorage Republican Chuck Kopp will serve another term as majority leader, a post he held from 2025 to 2026. Kopp has been in the House since 2017 and ran unopposed for a fourth term.
Sitka independent Rebecca Himschoot will chair the Rules Committee. She joined the House in 2023, co-chaired the Education Committee from 2025 to 2026 and was leading her race with 55.6% of the vote.
Three Democrats, Neal Foster of Nome, Sara Hannan of Juneau and Ashley Carrick of Fairbanks, will co-chair the Finance Committee, which writes the operating and capital budgets. Foster, a co-chair since 2018, led his race with 48.5%; Hannan ran unopposed for a fifth term; Carrick was ahead with 59.3% in her bid for a third.
Schrage said the coalition remains open to new members.
