Rep. David Nelson, R-Anchorage, enters the House chambers before the start of a special legislative session on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Anchorage Republican Rep. David Nelson will not run for re-election to the state House district covering Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Government Hill, he confirmed in a Monday phone call.
Nelson initially announced his decision on social media, saying that his choice was driven by his upcoming marriage.
“Next summer, Breanna and I will be getting married,” he wrote in the statement, “and together we’ll be focusing on the life we are building. We’ve been best friends since we met as students at UAA and have unwaveringly supported and encouraged each other as we built our careers.”
By phone, Nelson said the wedding will take place in Palmer in August.
In recent years, Nelson and Anchorage Democrat Cliff Groh have traded the state House seat that covers JBER. Nelson defeated Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, in 2020 and served until he was defeated by Groh in 2022. Nelson defeated Groh in 2024, and Groh has already signed up to run for the seat again in 2026.
If Groh were to win the seat, it would give Democrats an additional vote in the Alaska House of Representatives, increasing the odds that a coalition majority would continue to control the House.
A coalition of independents, Democrats and moderate Republicans has controlled the House since the 2024 election, and Nelson has been a member of the House’s 19-person Republican minority caucus.
In the House, Nelson has been a reliable supporter of the U.S. military and has both sponsored and voted for bills intended to ease the return of veterans into civilian life.
This year, he also sponsored a bill intended to legalize sports gambling by cellphone in Alaska. That proposal has not yet advanced.
