Kelly Tshibaka in 2022 AK Senate race


On Abortion: An unapologetically pro-life Alaska conservative

I will fight to preserve our Second Amendment right to bear arms and, as an unapologetically pro-life Alaska conservative, I will be a voice for the unborn. And I'm for America first, always.
Source: The Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Budget & Economy: Cut hundreds of millions from state spending over 5 years

Under Kelly's leadership as Commissioner of Alaska's Department of Administration, the department cut future spending by HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS over 5 years; consolidated services; reduced regulations; opened hiring opportunities statewide; and digitized numerous manual operations. The department also saved millions in healthcare, while expanding options and reducing premiums for members.
Source: 2022 Alaska Senate campaign website KellyForAK.com Jan 4, 2022

On Civil Rights: Recall offensive personalized license plates

Alaska Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka has released the following statement regarding Alaska's Personalized Plates Program:

Over the weekend, we were made aware several Alaskans were concerned about messages conveyed on Alaska personalized vehicle registration plates. The DMV has a recall process in place should a plate be issued that later is determined to be inappropriate or offensive, which was used in this circumstance.

[The plate in question: 3REICH.]

Source: Anchorage Press on 2022 Alaska Senate race Jan 25, 2021

On Civil Rights: Won't engage in discrimination based on sexual orientation

Some Democratic legislators have asked if I will discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation. So let me be absolutely clear: I will not engage in such discrimination, nor have I ever engaged in such discrimination. I have a long career as a senior leader in the federal government, in which I've consistently celebrated, embraced and respected diversity. I will continue to live by that standard as the Commissioner of the Department of Administration.
Source: Must Read Alaska on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 6, 2019

On Civil Rights: Wrote anti-gay article in law school, no longer her view

Her most controversial story came from an October 11, 2001, article entitled "The Right Side: Coming out of Homosexuality." Tshibaka urged gay people to "not be controlled by the 'once-gay-always-gay-rhetoric' used to advance political agendas." Tshibaka told CNN, "I strongly believe that we should treat all people with respect and dignity. The student article was assigned to me by an editor as a counterpoint piece about 20 years ago, and I don't hold that point of view today."
Source: CNN KFile, "Twilight," on 2022 Alaska Senate race Apr 27, 2021

On Crime: Hold rioters responsible for insurrection, not Trump

Tshibaka told CNN that it was the mob who was responsible for attacking the Capitol on January 6 -- not Trump. "What they did was horrible, and they absolutely need to be held responsible for what they did," she said. Tshibaka added: "I think the American values are: you're responsible for your own conduct -- and we're independent free-thinking people. I don't think we get a pass to be able to blame other people for our conduct."
Source: WENY News (Elmira NY) on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Drugs: Linked drugs with witchcraft, demonic possession

Tshibaka also made a connection between illicit drugs and witchcraft by writing about the etymology of the word "pharmacy."

"There is a link between drugs and witchcraft. Our word 'pharmacy,' for example, comes from the Latin word pharmakon, which means 'magic charm' or 'poison.' Perhaps this explains why many people who have used illegal drugs experience demonic oppression," she wrote, though she mistakenly says "pharmakon" comes from Latin. The origins come from pre-Greek languages.

Source: CNN KFile, "Twilight," on 2022 Alaska Senate race Apr 27, 2021

On Energy & Oil: Stop leftists who want to shut down oil and gas production

As your next senator, I will rebuild our economy and fight to protect the jobs of the thousands of Alaskans who work in our energy industry. We need a senator who will defend us against the leftists who want to shut down our oil and gas production and destroy our way of life. We must support and rejuvenate our small businesses and give our young people hope that they can find good jobs here at home, instead of leaving to find employment elsewhere.
Source: The Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Energy & Oil: Speed up process for oil and gas leases in ANWR

Permitting processes for oil and gas leases on public lands are onerous and time consuming, taking years to complete. In the case of access to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), federal regulatory restrictions were in place for 60 years before President Donald Trump cleared the way for energy production. Biden then suspended oil and gas leases in ANWR on his first day in office. When I'm your senator, I will call for permitting processes to be completed within a defined time frame.
Source: Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race May 31, 2021

On Environment: Environmental extremists prevent our true potential

In many ways, Alaska's lands are sacred; they have been blessed with rich resource endowment, which has always been the key to our subsistence and economy. The problem is that environmental extremists, now given renewed power by President Joe Biden's administration, have prevented us from realizing our true potential of rising prosperity, self-sufficiency and economic independence, balanced with environmental conservation.
Source: Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race May 31, 2021

On Foreign Policy: Afghanistan withdrawal may destabilize existing global order

While the United States' involvement in Afghanistan needed to end at some point, President Biden's reckless withdrawal plan was an epic failure of leadership for which he must be held to account. The repercussions of Biden's blunders have reverberated throughout the world and may destabilize the existing global order in ways even our most able political prognosticators cannot anticipate.
Source: Must Read Alaska on 2022 Alaska Senate race Sep 2, 2021

On Government Reform: Worked to expose waste and fraud in government

Tshibaka positioned herself as having a record of reducing government size and spending. "I got to work in agencies where we actually expose waste and fraud and we hold insiders accountable and we return hundreds and millions of dollars to American taxpayers," Tshibaka said. "I did that in the Department of Justice [and] I did that in the intelligence community."
Source: The Homer News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Government Reform: We don't know outcome of 2020 election; I have questions

[Four months after election finalized]: "We don't know the outcome of the 2020 election," Tshibaka responded when asked whether she agreed with Trump that he won the 2020 election. "In the 2020 election, there were questions raised in several states, and we're not allowed to look into the questions of those allegations to see what actually happened," she said. "I still have questions, and I think millions of other Americans do too." There was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Source: WENY News (Elmira NY) on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Gun Control: She will fight to preserve the 2nd Amendment

She will be a strong voice in opposition to illegal immigration and will fight to preserve the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She will be an advocate for the military, coming from a family which has fought in major American conflicts from the Vietnam War to the Revolutionary War. Tshibaka is unapologetically pro-life.
Source: 2022 Alaska Senate campaign website KellyForAK.com Mar 29, 2021

On Health Care: COVID shot is individual choice, against mandates

It's as simple as this: The decision to get the COVID shot is one for individuals to make, in consultation with their healthcare providers. Nevertheless, President Biden wrongly believes he has the legal and moral authority not only to make medical decisions for millions of Americans, but also to impose those decisions on them and their employers. That decision has disastrous consequences for Alaska, and it will become even worse if Biden extends his mandate overreach to air travel.
Source: Must Read Alaska on 2022 Alaska Senate race Sep 17, 2021

On Immigration: A strong voice in opposition to illegal immigration

I will be a strong voice in opposition to illegal immigration and, as the proud descendant of Americans who fought in virtually every major American conflict from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, I will be a tireless advocate for our military and our veterans.
Source: The Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Local Issues: Allow use of Tribal IDs in lieu of mandated Real ID

Tshibaka talked about challenges she faced trying to implement Real ID laws in Alaska after they were passed at the federal level.The strict documentation requirements made getting IDs to people difficult. She has been unable to get a Real ID for her daughter because she doesn't have an original copy of her birth certificate. Instead, Tshibaka said there is support for having rural communities use Tribal IDs, which she said would be less expensive and more accessible.
Source: The Homer News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Principles & Values: Trump impeachment: opponent "out of touch" for supporting

Tshibaka launched her campaign against Sen. Murkowski, pitching the election as an outsider versus a powerful, longtime insider. "We know what Washington, DC thinks about Alaska: We're here for their benefit; we're not going to put up much of a fight," said Tshibaka in a video. "After about 20 years in DC, Lisa Murkowski thinks the same way." Tshibaka called Murkowski "so out of touch" for voting "to remove Donald Trump from office, even after he was already gone."
Source: CNN.com on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Principles & Values: Name pronounced like Star Wars character Chewbacca

Tshibaka coached the crowd in how to say her name. "How do you say my name?" Tshibaka asked. "Like the Star Wars character: Chewbacca."]
Source: The Homer News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Principles & Values: Constitution provides no religious test for public office

Religious liberty is enshrined in the text of our United States Constitution. The First Amendment protects freedom of religious expression. And Article VI of the Constitution provides that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. The United States Supreme Court has explicitly warned against the danger of presuming that a person's faith might present a danger in the context of holding public office.
Source: Must Read Alaska on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 6, 2019

On Principles & Values: Employees are free to express their religion or nonreligion

All employees of Alaska have a protected freedom to express their religion or nonreligion. Alaskans' rights of free exercise are not limited to their doors of their churches, their synagogues, their mosques, or their temples. They carry those rights with them wherever they go, and wherever they are, including in the halls of our state legislature or at their desks at the State of Alaska agencies. Their rights of free exercise of religion have to be honored and protected and observed.
Source: Must Read Alaska on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 6, 2019

On Principles & Values: I'm for America first, always

I will be a strong voice in opposition to illegal immigration and, as the proud descendant of Americans who fought in virtually every major American conflict from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, I will be a tireless advocate for our military and our veterans. I will fight to preserve our Second Amendment right to bear arms and, as an unapologetically pro-life Alaska conservative, I will be a voice for the unborn. And I'm for America first, always.
Source: Anchorage Daily News on 2022 Alaska Senate race Mar 30, 2021

On Tax Reform: Make Trump cuts permanent, extend business tax exemptions

When government grows, freedom shrinks. And when freedom grows, government shrinks. I support making the Trump tax cuts permanent and will work to extend business tax exemptions.
Source: 2022 Alaska Senate campaign website KellyForAK.com Jan 4, 2022

The above quotations are from 2022 Alaska Senate race: debates and news coverage.
Click here for other excerpts from 2022 Alaska Senate race: debates and news coverage.
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Kelly Tshibaka on other issues:
Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Jobs
Principles
Social Security
Tax Reform
Technology
War/Peace
Welfare
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Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023