Kelly Merrick
American politician (born 1975)
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Kelly Merrick (née Richards; born 1975) is an American politician from Alaska. A Republican, Merrick was elected to the Alaska State Senate in 2022, representing District L in Eagle River. She was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023. She took office as State Senator on January 17, 2023.[1]
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Kelly Merrick | |
|---|---|
Merrick in 2024 | |
| Member of the Alaska Senate | |
| Assumed office January 17, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Lora Reinbold (District G) |
| Constituency | L |
| Member of the Alaska House of Representatives | |
| In office January 16, 2019 – January 17, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Lora Reinbold |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Allard (District 23) |
| Constituency | 14 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1975 (age 50–51) Juneau, Alaska, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Joey Merrick |
Early life and career
Political career
Merrick ran for election to the Alaska House to succeed Lora Reinbold, who ran for the Alaska Senate. Merrick defeated Jamie Allard and Eugene Harnett in a 3-way race of the Republican primary and nonpartisan Joe Hackenmueller in the general election.[3] Rep. Merrick was censured by Republican District 14 for caucusing with the Democrats in 2021. The Alaska Republican State Central Committee also voted to censure Merrick and no longer recognizes Merrick as a Republican.
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition Republican | Kelly Merrick (incumbent) | 2,332 | 33.9 | |
| Republican | Jared Goecker | 2,247 | 32.7 | |
| Democratic | Lee Hammermeister | 1,003 | 14.6 | |
| Republican | Ken McCarty (withdrew) | 779 | 11.3 | |
| Republican | Sharon Jackson (withdrew) | 513 | 7.5 | |
| Total votes | 6,874 | 100.0 | ||
After the primary, McCarty withdrew from the race and endorsed Goecker. This would normally mean that Jackson, the fifth place finisher, would move up, but she also withdrew and endorsed Goecker.[4]
| Party | Candidate | First choice | Round 1 | Round 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Transfer | Votes | % | Transfer | Votes | % | ||||||
| Coalition Republican | Kelly Merrick | 9,050 | 46.3% | +42 | 9,092 | 46.5% | +800 | 9,892 | 55.5% | ||||
| Republican | Jared Goecker | 7,685 | 39.3% | +13 | 7,698 | 39.4% | +241 | 7,939 | 44.5% | ||||
| Democratic | Lee Hammermeister | 2,754 | 14.1% | +16 | 2,770 | 14.2% | -2,770 | Eliminated | |||||
| Write-in | 51 | 0.3% | -51 | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Total votes | 19,540 | 19,560 | 17,831 | ||||||||||
| Blank or inactive ballots | 780 | +1,729 | 2,509 | ||||||||||
| Republican hold | |||||||||||||
| Coalition hold | |||||||||||||
