Niven, Kelly top fundraisers in competitive Assembly races a week before Juneau’s election

Assembly District 2 race the most competitive with three of four candidates raising large sums; Kelly has dominant financial edge over two challengers in Areawide race

Juneau Assembly candidates participate in a forum hosted by the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 10, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This story has been updated with additional information.

Juneau’s most competitive Assembly race is also the most expensive, with the four District 2 candidates reporting a total of about $30,000 raised as of Tuesday, nearly three times the reported total of the four candidates in two other races.

District 2 challenger Joyce Niven with $12,812.16 and Areawide incumbent Paul Kelly with $11,322.54 are the solid money leaders in their respective races, according to seven-day reports filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The totals include monetary and non-monetary contributions such as services performed for campaigns.

In the other Assembly race. District 1 challenger Mila Cosgrove is unopposed and is registered as an exempt candidate who does not expect to spend or receive more than $5,000.

In the open District 2 race, Karla Hart is second in fundraising with $8,974.27, followed by Malachi Thorington with $7,758.21 and David Morris with $600, according to the seven-day reports.

Kelly’s two challengers, James McCants and Brad Sapp, are registered as exempt candidates.

All three Juneau Board of Education candidates — challenger Christine Johnson, and incumbents Britteny Cioni-Haywood and David Noon — did not have income or expenditures to report.

How much is money the message?

When Kelly first ran for Assembly in 2023 he had raised less half as much as fellow challenger Laura Martinson McDonnell a week before that race ended, but finished first in votes while McDonnell finished fourth in a 10-candidate field on Election Day. A large percentage of his responses to questions during forums and interviews mentioned knocking on people’s doors.

Hart, who has the most cash remaining (about $3,100) in this year’s District 2 race, said Wednesday at this point "I have to figure out if I can responsibly spend it in a way that would make a difference."

"I really feel like in Juneau that anybody who wants to be an involved and informed voter has so many opportunities to learn about candidates that I find it a bit offensive to be buying too much advertising," she said.

Morris, generally acknowledged by District 2 candidates as the most conservative among them, said Wednesday he believes his political differences from the others are enough to give him a legitimate chance on Election Day.

"I think the bottom of this one is taxes or no taxes," said Morris, who opposes ballot measures raising the mill rate cap and imposing a 1% seasonal sales tax, contrary to his opponents. "That's what I think is going to decide this race."

Thorington, who is largely self-funding his campaign, said Thursday "I'm not a big fan of asking people for money and so I was essentially putting my money where my mouth is." He said he also decided to enter the race relatively late, at which point organizations and other regular donors had already been approached by other candidates.

Having significant funds can be an asset in a campaign, as can being a candidate "dramatically outside of a political norm…just because they're not the status quo," in a field of contenders, said Thorington, noting a distinction for him is "being the youngest person in my race by 20 years." But he said those factors may not have a big impact during the last days of the campaign.

"Even last week it really seemed like a lot of people to a large degree have either already voted or knew who they were voting for, and getting out and about now has much less of a ripple effect this late in the election cycle," he said. "Not to say that there isn't still time for change, but the vast majority of people have made up their mind."

Niven, in an interview Wednesday, said the funds she has raised are an indicator of widespread community support, as well as support from two union groups that were her largest individual donors at $1,000 each. She said fundraising and spending were a significant focus early in her campaign, "and then it switches to more of door knocking and getting the word out."

"I have no idea where my race stands," she added. "I'm hopeful that I got the message out that I wanted, and that enough voters agree with my message and will vote for me."

Kelly, comfortably ahead of his two challengers financially while running this year as an incumbent, also has by far the most contributions from unions and other organizations. He said Wednesday he was a union employee and "I feel that they probably supported me out of a sense of solidarity because we're all union and I think we are aligned on quite a few issues."

While such efforts were a shift in focus compared to three years ago when he was an unfamiliar name to many voters, he said the final six days of this year’s campaign will return to "knocking on doors."

McCants, as the lowest-funded Areawide challenger, has spent much of the campaign doing another familiar tactic by standing on busy street corners with signs. He said Wednesday he hasn’t received any donations so far — and is proud of that fact. Instead, he estimates he’s spent about $500 of his own money "mostly on signs."

"No matter what my platform, personality and X-Y-Z, this was an uphill battle, and that's what it's going to be," he said. "So I can't guarantee the results."

Sapp on Wednesday said he’s raised about $3,700 which, while below the APOC reporting threshold, is still enough to conduct a competitive campaign against Kelly.

"I'm doing everything he's doing except I'm not doing a whole lot of social media," Sapp said. "I'm doing more signs, canvassing, I'm attending meetings, I'm attending all the forums that I can get to."

Sapp and McCants each have taken largely different positions than Kelly on major issues including the two tax-related ballot measures, and like Morris in the District 2 are hoping that may make more of a difference to voters than money.

"I have a lot of support, I have a lot of momentum and I'm looking forward to unseating Paul Kelly," Sapp said.

The following are income, expenses and notable donors for the eight Assembly candidates, as listed in the seven-day APOC reports:

Assembly Areawide

Paul Kelly

Total income: $11,322.54

Total expenses: $7,524.33

Major/notable donors: Self ($717.33), ASEA/ AFSCME Local 52 PAC ($1,000); Teamsters ALIVE- Gaming ($1,000); ALPEC Voluntary Contributions Laborers Local 942 ($1,000); Cynthia Gaguine ($1,000); Public Employees Local 71 Political League Candidate Fund ($500); John and Margaret Pugh ($500; Employees Political Information Committee($500); Juneau Central Labor Council ($500); Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 262 Local PAC Fund ($500); Paul Voelkers ($500); Juneau Pro Choice Coalition PAC ($250); Jesse Kiehl ($50).

James McCants

Filed as exempt candidate

Brad Sapp

Filed as exempt candidate

Assembly District 1

Mila Cosgrove

Filed as exempt candidate

Assembly District 2

Joyce Niven

Total income: $12,812.16

Total expenses: $10,676.20

Major/notable donors: Self ($1068.66, including $1,000 loan); ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 PAC ($1,000); Juneau Central Labor Council PAC ($500); Paul Voelckers ($500); Ted Quinn ($500); Juneau Pro Choice Coalition-PAC ($100).

Karla Hart

Total income: $8,974.27

Total expenses: $5,874.20

Major/notable donors: Self ($374.08); Helen Tallmadge ($500); Christine Kondzela ($500); Kimberly Metcalfe Helmar ($350); Juneau Pro Choice Coaltion-PAC ($100); Sara Hannan ($100).

Malachi Paul Thorington

Total income: $7,758.21

Total expenses: $5,991.84

Major/notable donors: Self ($5,460.04), Elizabeth Figus (domestic partner, $493.14); John Krapek ($500); Penelope Glass ($300); Local PAC Fund, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 262 ($250).

David Morris

Total income: $600

Total expenses: $0

Major/notable donors: Self ($50); Chris Wallace (listed as "wallace, Chirch Of Christ," $250); Dennis DeWitt ($200); Scott Spickler ($100).

(Disclosure: Joyce Niven is the Juneau Independent’s business manager. She is a part-time contractor responsible for accounting and other financial responsibilities, with no involvement in newsroom operations.)

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.