Shelley Hughes

Shelley Hughes
Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate
Assumed office
January 17, 2023
Preceded byTom Begich
Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate
In office
January 19, 2021 – January 17, 2023
Preceded byLyman Hoffman
Succeeded byCathy Giessel
Member of the Alaska Senate
Assumed office
January 22, 2017
Preceded byBill Stoltze
ConstituencyF (2017–2023)
M (2023–present)
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
In office
January 18, 2013 – January 22, 2017
Preceded byCarl Gatto (District 13)
Succeeded byDeLena Johnson
Constituency8 (2013–2015)
11 (2015–2017)
Personal details
Born (1958-01-06) January 6, 1958 (age 66)
Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationCuyahoga Community College
University of Alaska, Anchorage (BA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Shelley Hughes (born January 6, 1958, in Canton, Ohio)[1] is an American politician and a Republican member of the Alaska Senate, serving since 2017. Hughes represents Palmer and other parts of the southern Matanuska-Susitna Borough. She was previously a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from January 18, 2013, until January 22, 2017.[2]

Career

[edit]

Hughes has an AA from Cuyahoga Community College and a BA from the University of Alaska.[3]

Alaska House of Representatives

[edit]

Hughes was appointed to the Alaska State House of Representatives by Governor Sean Parnell, succeeding the late Representative Carl Gatto, who passed away on April 10, 2012.[4] Hughes was then elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2012, beating Daniel Hamm in the primary election.[5]

Alaska Senate

[edit]

Hughes was first elected to the Alaska Senate in its 2016 election. In 2021, she was chosen to be the majority leader of the Alaska Senate.

Health care

[edit]

In September 2021, Hughes was part of a panel of Alaska legislators focused on health care. Hughes argued that Alaska was "the highest cost location on the globe" for the cost of drug and medical treatment, and said she was looking at pharmacy benefit management and increased price transparency as ways to keep costs down.[6]

Transgender athletes

[edit]

In May 2021, Hughes introduced a bill into the Alaska Senate that would ban transgender women and girls from playing in women's sports. The bill required that public schools, or private schools with teams that compete against public schools, have gender-segregated sporting teams and that any participant on the girls' team "must be female, based on the participant's biological sex."[7] Because the bill was introduced in the final few weeks of the legislative session, Hughes announced that she would push for it in the next legislative session instead.[7]

Personal life

[edit]

Hughes' husband, Roger, is a veteran of the Vietnam War. She has four children.[3]

Electoral history

[edit]

2020

[edit]
2020 Alaska Senate election, District F[8][9]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Shelley Hughes 4,759 100.0%
Total votes 4,759 100.0%
General election
Republican Shelley Hughes 14,751 71.3%
Democratic Jim Cooper 4,904 23.7%
Other Gavin S. Christiansen 998 4.8%
Other Write-ins 29 0.1%
Total votes 10,829 100.0%

2016

[edit]
2016 Alaska Senate election, District F[10][11]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Shelley Hughes 2,186 48.09%
Republican Adam Crum 1,885 41.47%
Republican Steve St. Clair 475 10.45%
Total votes 4,546 100.0%
General election
Republican Shelley Hughes 12,284 69.69%
Other Tim Hale 4,750 27.7%
Other Write-ins 92 0.54%
Total votes 10,829 100.0%

2014

[edit]
2014 Alaska House of Representatives election, District 11[12][13]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Shelley Hughes 3,402 100.0%
Total votes 3,402 100.0%
General election
Republican Shelley Hughes 5,268 69.69%
Democratic Pete LaFrance 2,275 30.10%
Other Write-ins 16 0.21%
Total votes 7,559 100.0%

2012

[edit]
2012 Alaska House of Representatives election, District 8[14][15]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Shelley Hughes 1,819 71.9%
Republican Daniel H. Hamm 709 28.1%
Total votes 2,522 100.0
General election
Republican Shelley Hughes 6,183 95.6%
Other Write-ins 282 4.4%
Total votes 6,465 100.0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Shelley Hughes". Juneau, Alaska: Alaska Legislature. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  2. ^ "Representative Shelley Hughes' Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Senator Shelley Hughes". Alaska Legislature.
  4. ^ Wellner, Andrew (2012-05-03). "Hughes picked to replace Gatto in Legislature". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  5. ^ "State of Alaska 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012 Official Results". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  6. ^ Kispert, Ethan (September 20, 2021). "Legislative Democrats and Republicans discuss health care now and in the future". State of Reform. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Bohrer, Becky (May 13, 2021). "Alaska bill would bar transgender girls from female sports". AP News. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  8. ^ "2020 primary election" (PDF). Juneau, Alaska. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  9. ^ "2020 general election" (PDF). Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "2016 primary election". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "2016 general election". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "2014 primary election". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "2014 general election". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  14. ^ "State of Alaska 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012 Official Results". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  15. ^ "State of Alaska 2012 General Election November 6, 2012 Official Results". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
Alaska Senate
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate
2021–2023
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate
2023–present
Incumbent