Sen. Lesil McGuire, a Republican from Anchorage, likely surprised attendees at the Arctic Energy Summit in Fairbanks Monday when she announced she would not seek re-election next year.
McGuire said she chose the summit as the place to make her announcement because Arctic and energy issues are two of the great passions of her life. She said although being a senator for the past 15 years has been an honor, she will not seek re-election when her term ends in 2016.
“But I’ll remain the next year and a half to work on more issues in the Arctic and energy over the next year and a half but I decided to announce it today because there has been speculation about me running again and others jumping into the race and I just wanted to make that announcement,” she said.
McGuire has served as the co-chair of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission. She also chairs the Senate Rules Committee and is a member of the Senate Resources and Judiciary Committees.
