Kelly Merrick (née Richards; born 1975) is an American politician from

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 ...

. A Republican, she was a 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 pe ...

, representing District 14 from 2019 to 2023. In 2022, Merrick was elected to the

Alaska State Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gube ...

representing District L, she was succeeded in the Alaska House by

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Alyse Galvin Alyse Surratt Galvin (born July 18, 1965) is an American businesswoman, education advocate, and politician from the state of Alaska. Galvin was an independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Alaska's at-large congressiona ...

. She took office as State Senator on January, 17, 2023.

Early life and career

Merrick worked as a staffer in the Alaska Legislature and served an aide (Secretary) to U.S. Rep.

Don Young Donald Edwin Young (June 9, 1933 – March 18, 2022) was an American politician from the state of Alaska. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving Republican in congressional history, having been the U.S. representative for fo ...

for 6 months.

Political career

Merrick ran for election to the Alaska House to succeed

Lora Reinbold Lora H. Reinbold (born April 30, 1964 in Fairbanks, Alaska) is an American politician who is a member of the Alaska Senate. She was a member of the Alaska House from 2013 to 2019, representing District 26. Reinbold is the only member of the Alask ...

, who ran for the Alaska Senate. Merrick defeated Jamie Allard and Eugene Harnett in a 3-way race of the Republican primary and nonpartisan Joe Hackenmueller in the general election. Rep Merrick was censured by Republican District 14 for caucusing with the Democrats in 2021. The Alaska Republican State Central Committee also voted to censure Merrick and no longer recognizes Merrick as a Republican.

References

1975 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives People from Anchorage, Alaska People from Juneau, Alaska Women state legislators in Alaska {{Alaska-politician-stub