Meet JKT

JKT standing outdoors with Sitka, Alaska in the background.

I’m Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins — but most people call me JKT.

I was born and raised in Sitka. Like a lot of kids in Southeast, I spent most of my time playing in the woods getting dirt under my fingernails. My dad kept the freezer full of venison and halibut and my mom worked as a family doctor in the local hospital. I am a proud product of scouting and public schools, graduating Sitka High School as an Eagle Scout.

Young JKT wearing a red life jacket, blue jacket, yellow waterproof pants, and black boots sitting in a small boat with a snowy Alaskan mountain landscape in the background.
JKT dressed in an Eagle Scouts uniform, wearing badges and neckerchiefs, standing indoors in front of a framed photo collage and an American flag.
A man holding a young JKT standing next to a large fish hanging from a ceiling in a rustic outdoor setting.

I went to college on the East Coast, where I got my first taste of traffic and Chipotle. As I was heading into my final year before graduation, a few friends from home called. Southeast Alaska’s long-time representative in the Alaska Legislature was running for reelection — unopposed. They didn’t like that. Neither did I.

What I liked even less was that the incumbent had voted to give oil companies a massive tax break, shortchanging Alaskans and leaving our schools and basic infrastructure hurting. So I left college, without a degree, and came home to kick off a scrappy, grassroots campaign, traveling by ferry and floatplane to knock nearly every door across Southeast Alaska. I won — by 32 votes.

Group of people at a political campaign event holding yellow and blue signs that read "Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for State House." Some signs have an illustration of mountains and a river. The group includes adults and children standing on a grassy area with a building, trees, and mountains in the background.
JKT standing on an Alaskan beach
JKT engaged in conversation as an Alaska State Legislator, in a formal setting, dressed in business attire.

That was 14 years ago. Since then, I won five elections fighting for working families, a strong economy, and a government that works for regular people. In Juneau, I worked across the aisle to reduce trawl bycatch, protect public education, invest in basic infrastructure like roads and harbors, revitalize Alaska Native languages, and protect the $85 billion Permanent Fund.

Three years ago, I left the legislature to make room for new people and new ideas. I spent two years working on science and technology policy on Capitol Hill for a national policy nonprofit, as well as working on campaigns, both in Alaska and around the country.

JKT holding a large crab by a rocky lakeshore with boat and forested hills in the background.
JKT fishing in Alaska
A selfie of a woman and JKT with snow-capped mountains and green hills in the background.

Since I left the legislature, I’ve seen the same thing we all have: a distracted and dysfunctional state government that isn’t working for Alaskans. Prices keep rising. Roads and bridges crumble. Our schools struggle — or even close. Alaskans deserve better.

That’s why I’m running to be your governor: to work with others, including across party lines and geographic divides, to solve Alaska’s problems and get our state back on track. 

Join our fight

for the future of Alaska.

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