How a Man Imprisoned in New York Could Sway a Key House Race in Alaska

Eric Hafner, who is serving a 20-year sentence, is running to represent a state in which he has never set foot. He could play the spoiler under Alaska’s ranked-choice system.


Inmate 00932-005 is campaigning some 4,000 miles from Alaska, but his candidacy could be a meaningful factor in a tight race with ranked-choice voting. Ben Hohenstatt/The Juneau Empire, via Associated Press

By Corey Kilgannon
Oct. 15, 2024

In the race for Alaska’s sole seat in the House of Representatives, candidates are defined by credentials specific to the state. … The Democratic incumbent, Mary Peltola, is an Alaska Native who grew up in a fishing family. Her Republican challenger, Nick Begich III, hails from an Anchorage political dynasty. John Wayne Howe, a third-party candidate, has mined for gold and battled a bear.

Then there is Inmate 00932-005, campaigning from the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in New York, some 4,000 miles from Alaska. He is Eric Hafner, running in a state he has never set foot in and cannot visit soon.

Mr. Hafner, 33, is serving 20 years for threatening public officials in New Jersey, where he grew up. Now in his dubious quest to become one himself, he has emerged as an unlikely factor in the fight for control of Congress.


Eric Hafner has a history of running for offices in places where he does not live. via Carol Ann Hafner

Mr. Hafner has been a fringe congressional candidate at least twice before: in Hawaii in 2016 as a Republican and in Oregon two years later as a Democrat. This year, his Alaska candidacy withstood Democratic challenges in two courts and has pundits discussing the national implications of his possibly tipping the race, which could be key to control of the House.

The bizarre situation is just another episode in today’s surreal American political landscape, where accusations of criminality — and outright lawbreaking — are no longer automatically disqualifying: Representative George Santos of New York clung to his House seat despite a 23-count corruption indictment until he was expelled; a New York City mayor is governing while indicted; and the Republican nominee for president is a felon.

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