Nancy Dahlstrom

Nancy Dahlstrom
Dahlstrom in 2024
Nancy Dahlstrom
Born	13 8, 1957
Birthplace	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, public administrator
Education	Wayland Baptist University (BS) University of La Verne (MA)
Spouse(s)	Kit Dahlstrom
Children	4
Website	[Official website Official site]

Nancy Dahlstrom (born August 13, 1957) is an American politician serving as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska since December 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Dahlstrom has occupied a distinctive place in Alaska politics through a career marked by repeated appointments, resignations, elections, and transitions between legislative and executive branch service. She previously served multiple terms in the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 18th and 13th districts, and held the position of Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections under Governor Mike Dunleavy. Dahlstrom was first appointed to the state legislature in 2003 to fill the vacancy created when Lisa Murkowski was appointed to the United States Senate. After leaving the legislature in 2010 to join the administration of Governor Sean Parnell, Dahlstrom returned to elected politics in 2018, won a House seat, but declined to be seated in favor of accepting a cabinet position under Dunleavy. She launched an unsuccessful campaign for the United States House of Representatives in 2024, seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola, but withdrew after finishing third in the primary election. On May 5, 2025, Dahlstrom filed paperwork to run for Governor of Alaska in the 2026 election, and she formally announced her candidacy in October 2025.

Early Life

Nancy Dahlstrom was born on August 13, 1957, in Baltimore, Maryland. Details regarding her upbringing and family background in Maryland are limited in publicly available sources. At some point, Dahlstrom relocated to Alaska, where she established herself as a resident and became involved in community and political affairs. She settled in the Anchorage area, which would become the base for her political career spanning more than two decades.

Dahlstrom is married to Kit Dahlstrom, and the couple has four children. Her family life in Alaska has been a component of her public identity as a politician, though she has maintained a degree of privacy regarding the details of her family.

Education

Dahlstrom holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayland Baptist University, a private Christian university headquartered in Plainview, Texas, which operates satellite campuses in multiple states including Alaska. She also earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of La Verne, a private university based in La Verne, California, which similarly operates extension programs across the country.

Career

Initial Appointment to the Alaska House of Representatives (2003)

Dahlstrom's entry into elected office came through an appointment rather than a standard election. In December 2002, Governor Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter, state Representative Lisa Murkowski, to the United States Senate seat he had vacated upon becoming governor. This created a vacancy in the Alaska House of Representatives for the 18th district, which Lisa Murkowski had represented. Governor Murkowski selected Nancy Dahlstrom to fill the vacant seat at the beginning of the 2003 legislative session.

The appointment placed Dahlstrom in the state legislature beginning on January 21, 2003. She subsequently won election to the seat in her own right, serving multiple terms as the representative for the 18th district. During her tenure in the House, Dahlstrom served as a Republican member and participated in the legislative work of the body over a period spanning approximately seven years.

Service in the Alaska House (2003–2010)

Dahlstrom represented the 18th district in the Alaska House of Representatives from her initial appointment in January 2003 through May 2010. Over the course of her service, she participated in multiple legislative sessions and was involved in the work of various committees. The Alaska State Legislature's records confirm her service during this period.

Her predecessor in the redistricted seat was Lisa Murkowski, and her successor upon her departure was Dan Saddler, who went on to represent the district after Dahlstrom's resignation.

Brief Executive Branch Service Under Governor Parnell (2010)

In 2010, Dahlstrom resigned from the Alaska House of Representatives to accept a position in the administration of Governor Sean Parnell. However, the appointment proved short-lived. Dahlstrom resigned from the executive branch position after less than a month when constitutional issues arose regarding the appointment. The specific nature of the constitutional concerns prompted her rapid departure from the role, making this one of the briefer chapters in her political career. Her House seat was subsequently filled by Dan Saddler.

Return to Electoral Politics and 2018 Election

After several years away from elected office, Dahlstrom ran for the Alaska House of Representatives again in 2018, this time seeking to represent the 13th district. She faced Democrat Danyelle Kimp in the general election. Dahlstrom won the election, but in an unusual move, she declined to be seated in the legislature. Instead, she accepted a position in the incoming administration of Governor-elect Mike Dunleavy, who had won the 2018 gubernatorial election.

Because Dahlstrom chose not to take the House seat she had won, a vacancy was created before the term even began. Governor Dunleavy appointed Sharon Jackson, a military veteran, to fill the full-term vacancy in House District 13. The decision drew attention due to the atypical nature of a winning candidate voluntarily forgoing a seat to join the executive branch.

Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections (2018–2022)

Dahlstrom's position in the Dunleavy administration was as Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections, a role she assumed on December 5, 2018. She succeeded Dean Williams in the position. As commissioner, Dahlstrom oversaw the state's prison system and corrections operations, a significant administrative role within Alaska's executive branch.

She served as corrections commissioner for approximately three and a half years, from December 2018 through May 2022. Upon her departure, she was succeeded by Jen Winkelman. Dahlstrom's tenure as commissioner coincided with a period that included the COVID-19 pandemic, which posed significant challenges for correctional facilities nationwide.

Lieutenant Governor of Alaska (2022–present)

On December 5, 2022, Dahlstrom assumed office as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, serving under Governor Mike Dunleavy. She succeeded Kevin Meyer in the position. As lieutenant governor, Dahlstrom's responsibilities include serving as the state's chief elections officer, overseeing the Division of Elections, and serving as first in the line of succession to the governor.

Upon taking office, Dahlstrom stated that she was prepared to take on the responsibilities of heading state elections, a significant component of the lieutenant governor's duties in Alaska.

In February 2026, Dahlstrom's management of elections drew scrutiny when the state's Division of Elections signed a Confidential Memorandum of Understanding with the Civil Rights Division of the federal Department of Justice. Critics argued that the agreement ceded control of a key state function to the federal government. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that Dahlstrom "signed off on the state decision to cede control of a key state function" to the federal government. The Anchorage Daily News published an opinion piece arguing that "Alaska's elections belong to Alaska" while noting that the state's agreement with the federal Department of Justice was intended to protect voter rolls. The Juneau Independent also criticized the agreement, suggesting that Dahlstrom prioritized federal involvement over the lessons of history in managing state elections.

2024 Congressional Campaign

In November 2023, Dahlstrom announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in the 2024 Alaska at-large congressional election, seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola. The race attracted national attention given Peltola's status as the first Alaska Native elected to Congress and the competitive dynamics of Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, which had been adopted by voters in 2020.

During the primary campaign, fellow Republican candidate Nick Begich III made a public pledge that he would drop out of the race if Dahlstrom outperformed him in the primary, and he challenged Dahlstrom to make the same commitment in reverse. The proposal reflected concerns among Republicans that splitting the conservative vote between multiple candidates could benefit the incumbent in the ranked-choice general election.

In the August 2024 primary election, Dahlstrom placed third, behind both Peltola and Begich. Following her third-place finish, Dahlstrom dropped out of the race on August 23, 2024. Her withdrawal cleared the path for a more consolidated Republican effort in the general election.

2026 Gubernatorial Campaign

On May 5, 2025, Dahlstrom filed paperwork to run for Governor of Alaska in the 2026 election, becoming one of the first candidates to formally enter the race. She filed on the same day as former Republican state Senator Click Bishop of Fairbanks, setting up an early intra-party contest for the Republican nomination. Both candidates filed to succeed term-limited Governor Dunleavy.

Dahlstrom formally announced her campaign for governor on October 7, 2025.

In February 2026, Dahlstrom's candidacy intersected with controversy over the state's elections administration. Lawmakers criticized claims associated with candidates, including those related to the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), with legislative leaders calling claims that Alaska's PFD would be $0 "absolute nonsense." The elections memorandum of understanding with the federal Department of Justice also became a campaign issue, with critics questioning Dahlstrom's judgment in entering the agreement.

Personal Life

Dahlstrom is married to Kit Dahlstrom. The couple has four children. The family resides in the Anchorage area of Alaska. Beyond the basic details of her family, Dahlstrom has maintained relative privacy regarding her personal life, with her public profile centered primarily on her political career and government service.

Dahlstrom was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and relocated to Alaska, where she has resided for an extended period and built her political career.

Recognition

Dahlstrom's career has been defined more by the breadth and variety of her public service positions than by formal awards or honors. Over the course of more than two decades in Alaska politics, she has held positions in both the legislative and executive branches of state government, a distinction that relatively few Alaska politicians can claim.

Her appointment to the lieutenant governorship in 2022 represented the highest office she has held, placing her in the line of succession to the governorship and giving her oversight of the state's elections apparatus. Her 2023 announcement of a congressional campaign attracted coverage from national media outlets, including Politico, reflecting her profile within Alaska Republican politics.

The Alaska State Legislature's historical records include Dahlstrom among the members who have served in the body, documenting her tenure as part of the institution's broader history.