Kelly Tshibaka | |
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Website | Tshibaka's home page |
Kelly Tshibaka, served as commissioner for the Alaska Department of Administration from 2019 until 2021, at which point she resigned and launched a campaign for the Alaska U.S. Senate seat held by Lisa Murkowski who is seeking reelection in November 2022.[1]
Early life, education, and career
Tshibaka was born and grew up in Wasilla and Anchorage, both in Alaska.[2] She graduated from high school in Anchorage in 1995, and from Texas A&M University in 1999, and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 2002. She subsequently was the Acting Inspector General of the Federal Trade Commission, served as legal counsel to the Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and performed sensitive reviews at the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. She was then Chief Data Officer for the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General. Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy appointed Tshibaka commissioner for the Alaska Department of Administration in January of 2019,[3] and served in that position until stepping down to run for Senate.[1]
2022 campaign for U.S. Senate
In Alaska's election for U.S. Senator, all candidates regardless of their political parties ran in a single Alaska primary in 2022, in keeping with Alaska's new system of ranked choice voting. The top four candidates advanced to the general election; the Alaska Republican Party has endorsed Tshibaka,[4] and one of those four candidates (Buzz Kelley) withdrew and endorsed Tshibaka,[5] leaving the following three candidates: Murkowski, Tshibaka, and Pat Chesbro (Kelley remained on the ballot even though he withdrew). As of September 2022, Tshibaka and Murkowski were virtually tied in an AARP poll.[6].
Personal
According to her website, "My dad worked as a union electrician and my mom as one of the first workers at the startup of Alaska’s largest oil field. I was the first in my family to pursue a college degree, and then I went on to law school, where I met my husband, Niki, with whom I have five children."[7]
References
- ^ a b Cordova, Gilbert. "Head of the Alaska Department of Administration resigns, seeks run for Murkowski’s US Senate seat", KTUU-TV (29 Mar 2021).
- ^ Raju, Manu and Rogers, Alex. "Pro-Trump challenger’s residency issues catch Murkowski’s eye", CNN (4 Oct 2021).
- ^ "Gov. Dunleavy appoints Kelly Tshibaka to lead Dept. of Administration", KINY (31 Jan 2019).
- ^ "Alaska Republican Party endorses Kelly Tshibaka in the 2022 race for the US Senate seat held by Murkowski", KTUU-TV (11 Jul 2021).
- ^ "Alaska Senate candidate drops out of race". www.thehill.com. September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Marquez, Alexandra. "Tshibaka, Murkowski virtually tied in new Alaska statewide poll", NBC News (15 Sep 2022).
- ^ "About Kelly", kellyforak.com/about. Retrieved 22 Oct 2022.