A working-class Alaskan Native takes on a ‘multimillionaire’ Republican for seat in Congress

Key points

• Independent Bill Hill, an Alaska Native commercial fisher, is challenging Republican incumbent Nick Begich for Alaska's lone House seat.
• The Cook Political Report shifted the race from likely Republican to leans Republican ahead of the 3 November election.
• Hill has raised fuel and heating costs and federal cuts as key issues, while Begich's office says his wealth does not affect his voting.

Independent candidate Bill Hill, an Alaska Native commercial fisher and first-time candidate, is challenging Republican incumbent Nick Begich for Alaska's lone House seat in the 3 November election. Hill, who has also worked in education and construction, is campaigning on affordability as Republicans fight to keep their narrow majority in Congress.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report recently moved the race from likely Republican to leans Republican. Recent polls showed Hill trailing Begich by single digits, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the race to its red to blue program in September. Hill has not said whether he would caucus with Democrats if elected.

Costs in focus

Hill has centered his campaign on the rising cost of basic necessities in Alaska. He said fuel in his hometown of Naknek went from $6.70 to almost $9 a gallon, and that heating fuel nearly doubled from $4.50 to $8.30 a gallon. In the villages of Ambler and Shungnak, gas has surpassed $25 a gallon.

A report by the United Way of Anchorage and Alaska 211 published earlier this month found more than one in three Alaskan households are not earning enough to cover housing, food, childcare and other essential expenses. Hill cited cuts to Snap and Medicaid, the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits, Trump's tariffs, federal job losses in Alaska and cancelled renewable energy projects as adding to costs.

I have spent a life being in the ditches, in the school hallways, on the back decks of fishing boats with hard-working people

— Bill Hill

Wealth gap and labor support

Hill, whose reported assets are valued at $119,000, has highlighted the gap between himself and Begich, who is worth at least $7.4m. Hill called his opponent a "multimillionaire working for billionaires". Begich's office did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson previously told the Anchorage Press that his personal finances have no impact on his legislative decisions.

More than 20 labor organizations, including the Alaska AFL-CIO, have endorsed Hill. Begich has signed on to the National Right to Work Act and has a 0% lifetime voting score from the AFL-CIO. Begich praised the passage of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a "transformative victory" and has continued supporting Trump's war in Iran.