STAND with Kelly and Niki Tshibaka
One grew up in Alaska; the other grew up abroad. One is a Daughter of the American Revolution and a descendant of generations of American veterans; the other, the son of an African immigrant and a descendant of Congolese chieftains. One was a government watchdog; the other, a civil rights activist. Both had parents who were homeless for a while, and both graduated from Harvard Law School.
Like you, they have suffered devastating loss and faced overwhelming challenges. Through it all, they’ve found victory over the hardships of life simply by choosing to Stand. Join Kelly, Niki, and their inspiring guests as they move beyond simply talking about issues and challenges, to exploring how to solve and overcome them. Together, we will build a movement of everyday Americans who courageously take a stand for freedom, truth, and a country led by “We the People.”
STAND with Kelly and Niki Tshibaka
Make Alaska Red Again: Nancy Dahlstrom's Mission for 2024
How does a young woman from the Lower 48 transform into a political powerhouse in the Last Frontier? Join us as we explore this incredible journey with Nancy Dahlstrom, the current Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and a 2024 US House candidate. Nancy shares her experiences, from her early days in the utility and retail sectors to managing a small bison farm with her family. With a rich career in the Alaska state legislature and various Republican administrations, she opens up about her motivations for running for office again. Nancy’s strong stance on public safety, her role as Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and her current position as Lieutenant Governor are all on the table for discussion, along with her commitment to challenging federal policies she believes are harmful to Alaska.
But the excitement doesn't stop there. In a pivotal moment for the Republican Party, we delve into President Trump’s recent endorsement of Nancy Dahlstrom and the strategies being employed to secure a Republican victory in November. As the Alaska State Chair for Trump's campaign, I share my enthusiasm for the endorsement and its broader implications for the GOP. Nancy helps us understand why keeping Alaska’s US House seat red is crucial, especially with the entire West Coast leaning left. Don't miss this compelling conversation as we stand for freedom, truth, and government by the people.
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Welcome to Stand where we help make courage contagious. I'm your host, kelly Chewbacca, former government watchdog and candidate for US Senate here in Alaska. I'm joined today by my best friend and co-host, mr Nikki Chewbacca. The crowd goes wild, hi Nikki.
Speaker 2:Thank you, mrs Kelly Chewbacca. The crowd goes wild, hi, Nicky. Thank you, mrs Kelly Chewbacca.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad to have you today. We are talking to you from the last frontier, the great state of Alaska, and it is wonderful outside, because it's always wonderful outside in Alaska. You can be sure to be one of our awesome standouts. Join us at our website, standshoworg. Find your favorite podcast platform. Join us on YouTube social media. Make sure to hit subscribe. Become one of our standouts. Catch all of our awesome, famous last episodes, like the one we had with Bill O'Reilly. But today we have a great interview for you.
Speaker 1:Just like I ran for Senate in 2022, we have an awesome US House candidate for us today in 2024. It is our current lieutenant governor, nancy Dahlstrom, running for House in Alaska against our incumbent Democrat. This is one of the toss-up seats this cycle in America. It is a seat that Republicans can easily take back to add to their very slim majority in a count of 435 House seats. Democrats are fighting for their lives for this seat because they know that there are a lot more Republicans in Alaska than Democrats. And, by the way, the entire West Coast has gone left West Coast, left coast. But there is one bright, red, shiny star up here in the north called Alaska, and they are fighting to turn us blue, and so this is a seat that we can take back, because after 49 years of this seat being red, it happened to go blue in 2022. So this is our chance to take it back.
Speaker 3:So today we're going to jump into all those in and outs and talk to our Lieutenant Governor, nancy Dahlstrom, about her plan to take back this seat and turn it red. Nancy Dahlstrom, welcome to STAND. Thank you so much, nikki and Kelly, it's great to be here with you.
Speaker 1:I'm really happy for this opportunity. We're so excited to have you with us. We want to open up and just hear a little bit about your story. What's your background?
Speaker 3:Oh boy, I have an interesting story. So first of all, I'm the oldest of six kids, so I'm always used to juggling and you know managing things and helping other people, so maybe some of that comes from that background. But you know, I came to Alaska with a girlfriend when I was 18. We came for a two week vacation and then I decided I'm going to stay the summer and she she decided the same thing and then both of us said you know what this is home? And we stayed here. We've been here. I've been here ever since. It's been 40 years, 40 plus years. My friend was here until a few years ago when her husband passed away and she left state to be near family. But this is my chosen home and I'm happy to be here. I love Alaska.
Speaker 3:You know I have experience in private industry. I've worked in the utility industries. I have worked in retail. My dad had an insurance agency. I did a little bit of work there growing up. My dad had an insurance agency. I did a little bit of work there growing up. My dad also had a farm, in a very small farm that he raised bison on, and so I had some interesting experiences helping to do that, but it wasn't a large herd like the Great Big National ones. There was only 25 animals. But they are beautiful creatures that I love, you know. I'm so glad that we still get to see them and all the other beauty in nature. But I've also worked in the Alaska state legislature.
Speaker 3:I have worked in several different administrations for Republican governors in other positions around the state. I ran for office again in 2018 and won, and the reason I ran and jumped back in was because I was so disgusted with what was happening in our state with crime, and basically we were saying criminals, you've got the right of way, do whatever you want to do Victims so sad, sorry, you're a victim, but we don't care. And the criminals just were getting away and I was sick of it. So I jumped back in. The governor knew what my stand was on public safety and we aligned on that, and so he actually asked me if I would, instead of being seated in that office, if I would be the commissioner of department of corrections, and I did agree to that and I served in that position and um really enjoyed it and I I enjoyed it because of the great people that work in that department and um, you know, a prison is like a little mini city and you have everything healthcare, education, all types of things in there, but doing my job, loving it.
Speaker 3:And then the governor said, hey, would you be willing to be my running mate? And so I accepted that offer that I was willing to step up and help him. And you know, we've been doing that for the last two years. And then here we are. I don't like what's happening in our country and I really don't like it how it's affecting our state, our great state of Alaska, and it's time to jump in again and fight. We know that Biden is basically trying to shut our state down and unfortunately, he's had the help of our congresswoman who has been voting and going right along with him on these things. And so I'm I want to fight, I'm willing to go to DC and stand up for Alaska, and that's why I decided to jump into this race.
Speaker 2:Well, you've been standing up for Alaska for a long time and, it sounds like, in a number of different capacities, both in the executive branch and in the legislative branch, so you've got a lot of the kind of experience that would be very helpful to bring to DC, both as a legislator and as an executive. No-transcript.
Speaker 3:Sure. So I worked in Department of Commerce and was executive director of Serve Alaska and what they do is they work with AmeriCorps members who go around the state and do wonderful projects Nationwide. There's an AmeriCorps program and again, they do lots of volunteer work. They do get paid for a lot of the work that they do but they're doing everything from grandparent programs to helping kids to helping build trails, to helping teach people literacy. They do all kinds of fantastic work.
Speaker 3:I worked in Department of Labor as the executive director of AWIB, which is the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, and that's a 25-member governor-appointed board representing all industry in the state. Education and everything's represented in that, and the goal with that group was to bring people together, help promote the governor's plan and good economic plans and policies for the state of Alaska. And again, you know I love that because there's so many people. There's one thing people that know me know my favorite thing is working with people and I like talking and working with people all across the spectrum and just having the opportunities to help and to learn from them all.
Speaker 1:Nancy, what sorry go for it. I was just curious what makes you the best qualified to hold this position over our current incumbent?
Speaker 3:Well, I believe that my votes in fact, I know that my votes would be a lot different than the current incumbent. I served with Representative Peltola in the Alaska legislature and she's a nice, wonderful lady. I like her, but our votes are very different and that's why I'm running, is I disagree with the votes. I will always stand up for the military, I will always stand up for our state and I will stand up to unleash the resources in our state that are now currently bound up, and so not only are we not able to produce, which is affecting our economy so you know, there's a trickle down effect with that. It affects our families. People can't spend the same, they can't enjoy the same things, but we've also had an outward migration in our state for 11 years, and when the economy is going down the tubes, people they have to leave to find, you know, good opportunities. So those types of things are things that have been okay and she's voted with I absolutely disagree with. I have far more extensive experience than she does in, you know, with the positions that I've held around the state.
Speaker 3:I've chaired major committees in the legislature as a member of the House majority. You have those opportunities. I've served in leadership positions. I was the rules chair in the in the Alaska legislature, in the majority, and the rules chair. You know I don't really like to brag about myself, it's easier to brag and build up other people, but the rules chair is important because that's the position that determines what legislation goes to the floor. You know, it can be voted on, it can be passed out of the committee unanimously, and if the rules chair doesn't schedule it to the floor, it's not going to be heard, it's not going to be going to be voted on, and so that's a position that's critical. Also, it's critical that that person is able to work with everybody because, you know, even though you're working with your majority, you're representing all Alaskans when you serve in the legislature and it's important to be able to do that. And those are areas that I succeeded in and I think you know that's some experience that she hasn't had.
Speaker 2:Right. You know, one of the other things that I can say that I've appreciated about your leadership, nancy, is the advocacy that you've done in the area of fighting human sex trafficking in Alaska and fighting against sexual violence and standing up for those voices that are often unheard in that area, and so we have about 30 seconds Anything that you want to say on that before we head into our break.
Speaker 3:Thanks for bringing that up. I will always defend the vulnerable and those that cannot defend themselves. We have a moral responsibility as Americans to do that and I will always do that.
Speaker 2:Wonderful Kelly. Any thoughts before we transition to the next?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm excited that we recently heard you have an endorsement from President Trump. I get to serve as the Alaska State Chair for Trump's campaign, so how about, on the other side of the break, we pick up telling the story about your Trump endorsement and talk about our path to victory in November and how Republicans can pick up this seat? I think it'd be really great to talk about that. You're on stand with Kelly Nikki Chewbacca. This is where we stand for freedom, truth and government by the people. On our break, make sure to hit us at standshoworg. Hit, subscribe and figure out which of our past episodes looks most interesting to you. Become one of our standouts and make sure to stand by. We'll pick up with Nancy Dahlstrom right after this.
