The New York Times story about the wunderkind Democratic candidate for Alaska governor wasn’t quite as optimistic as its headline in Thursday’s paper -- “How a Democrat Positioned Himself to Be Alaska’s Next Governor” -- but it was close.
The loosey-goosy, feel-good lede by Times’ Pacific Northwest bureau chief Anna Griffin was more befitting of a local hero profile than a journalistic enterprise from the self-described national "paper of record."
The man who could become Alaska’s first Democratic governor in a generation — and the youngest in the young state’s history — is a moderate who does nothing in moderation.
Stories of Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins’s intensity are already political legend in Alaska. At 13, he became a state organizer for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, his age concealed by the internet. A mountaineer, cellist and extreme runner, he dropped out of Yale to win a state legislative seat at age 23, and then spent a decade building bipartisan coalitions, conducting legislative business on his phone as he trained for ultramarathons on Juneau’s hills. That phase ended with a freak paragliding accident that broke two bones in his right leg and slowed him down ever so slightly.
After the “moderate who does nothing in moderation” compliment, the hagiography made another political turn.
Now the bald, bearded, baby-faced Eagle Scout, known in Alaska by almost everyone as J.K.T., is about to be introduced to a national audience at 37. His once-underdog campaign is testing whether Democrats can win in Republican states by building coalitions across party lines without embracing the socialist left.
In contrast, the vibe on the Republican side was bitter and bleak.
Infighting is hurting the Republican cause. Ms. Wilson, the best-funded Republican, has pleaded for her two Republican rivals on the November ballot to withdraw, as has President Trump. They’ve refused — and one attacked her. Meantime, Democrats are in array; Tom Begich, the scion of a Democratic dynasty in Alaska, finished second in the summer’s nonpartisan, top-four primary, and then dropped out and endorsed Mr. Kreiss-Tomkins.
….
At Yale, Mr. Kreiss-Tomkins became obsessed with finding the highest point on Ojos del Salado, the world’s tallest active volcano, which has two summits straddling Argentina and Chile. He assembled scientists and climbing partners, found a company willing to loan him $30,000 in global positioning satellite equipment and set off. When a climber’s death closed the mountain, he returned six months later, missing the start of spring classes. His measurements showed the Argentine side was taller by 12 inches.
After he and a friend, Chandler Kemp, found an abandoned camera on Ojos del Salado, Mr. Kreiss-Tomkins spent months tracking down its owner, said Mr. Kemp, an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Griffin couldn’t resist serving up another charming Kreiss-Tomkins anecdote.
His ability to down prodigious amounts of the dumplings, doused in sour cream, vinegar, curry powder and Sriracha, is also the stuff of legend among friends.
Not only is JKT incredibly accomplished, he’s got bipartisan support. One of those "lifelong Republicans" has gone rogue again:
Mr. Kreiss-Tomkins is promoting endorsements from Alaska Native leaders, commercial fishermen, police unions and Republicans.
“I am a small-business, individual-freedom, mind-your-own-business Republican,” said Rick Halford, a former Alaska Senate president who endorsed the Democrat. “I don’t agree with him on everything, but he listens and he learns.”
The U.K. Guardian’s take was equally celebratory, but that paper at least has the excuse of being avowedly left-wing. Shouldn’t the Times, an organ that purports to balance, at least make an effort toward balance?
