Lance David Pruitt (born August 18, 1981) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

from the 27th district which covers East Anchorage. He was elected in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and left office in 2021 following his election loss in 2020.

Early life and career

Born and raised in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, Pruitt graduated from Heritage High School in 1999, thereafter spending the next four years at the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Prin ...

gaining a BA in

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. Afterwards Pruitt began work in logistical management, including becoming Service Manager at

FedEx Ground FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The company began as Roadway Package System (RPS), founded in 1985 by ...

, and alongside his work as a state representative Pruitt is now also General Manager of

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

Logistics and the owner of small business ''Good 4 You Vending''. Furthering his study, he attended

Kaplan University Kaplan University (KU) was a private online for-profit university owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. It was predominantly a distance learning institution, maintaining 14 ground locations across the United States. The ...

from 2007 to 2009 and graduated with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in administration. He has also been a NANA slope worker and a member of the

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

Politics

Pruitt ran for the state house's 21st district being vacated by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Harry Crawford. Running unopposed, Pruitt gained the

nomination in August 2010. In the November election, he defeated Democratic nominee Barbara Norton 54% to 43%. (The

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nominee and write-ins received the remainder of the vote.) After being elected, Pruitt became co-chair of the house's Energy Special Committee; he also served as vice-chair of the education and transportation committees and as a member of the Legislative Outdoor Heritage Caucus. In the 2011 mid-term Alaska Business Report Card—a grading system run by several Alaska business coalitions judging state officials on how favorable they are to the business community—Pruitt received an A. In his first term, Pruitt was the youngest member of the House. He was also the first person under age 30 to serve in the Alaska Legislature since Mary Kapsner reached her 30th birthday while in office in 2003. In 2014 he was named an

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

Rodel Fellow. As House Minority Leader, Pruitt spearheaded the removal of David Eastman from his committee positions due to Republican infighting. Pruitt ran for reelection in 2020 and lost to Democratic challenger Liz Snyder by 13 votes. The

Alaska Supreme Court The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court for the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only court its decisions may be appealed to is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Alas ...

struck down his challenges to the result. In 2021, the Alaska Public Offices Commission levied a $20,000 fine against Pruitt for campaign finance violations committed from 2016 to 2020.Herz, Nathanael.
APOC fines former GOP Alaska Rep. Pruitt for “widespread, serious” campaign finance violations
" 23 Jun 2021, ''APR.com''. Retrieved 26 Jun 2021.

Personal life

Pruitt is married to Mary Ann and has two children and currently resides in East Anchorage. He is a member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, which also endorsed his run for the house. Alongside his activities Pruitt has also been a soccer coach, and helped for both the Alaska Airmen's Association and the Resource Development Council.

References

External links

Lance Pruitt
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pruitt, Lance 1981 births 21st-century American politicians Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Living people Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska University of Alaska Anchorage alumni Kaplan University alumni