Shelley Hughes
American politician (born 1958)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shelley Hughes (born January 6, 1958)[1] is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Alaska Senate from 2017 to 2025. Hughes represented Palmer and other parts of the southern Matanuska-Susitna Borough. She was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from January 18, 2013, until January 22, 2017.[2]
Shelley Hughes | |
|---|---|
Hughes in 2025 | |
| Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate | |
| In office January 17, 2023 – January 21, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Begich |
| Succeeded by | Mike Shower |
| Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate | |
| In office January 19, 2021 – January 17, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Lyman Hoffman |
| Succeeded by | Cathy Giessel |
| Member of the Alaska Senate | |
| In office January 22, 2017 – November 14, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Stoltze |
| Succeeded by | Cathy Tilton |
| Constituency | District F (2017–2023) District M (2023–2025) |
| Member of the Alaska House of Representatives | |
| In office January 18, 2013 – January 22, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Carl Gatto (District 13, redistricted) |
| Succeeded by | DeLena Johnson |
| Constituency | District 8 (2013–2015) District 11 (2015–2017) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 6, 1958 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Cuyahoga Community College (attended) University of Alaska, Anchorage (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Career
Hughes has an AA from Cuyahoga Community College and a BA from the University of Alaska.[3]
Alaska House of Representatives
Hughes was appointed to the Alaska State House of Representatives by Governor Sean Parnell, succeeding the late Representative Carl Gatto, who died 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
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. She resigned from the Senate in November 2025 in order to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.[6]
Health care
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.[7]
Transgender athletes
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."[8] 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.[8]
Personal life
Hughes had been married to her husband, Roger Hughes, for 48 years when he died on May 23, 2026. He had served in the a Vietnam War as a combat medic and later worked as a physician's assistant in civilian life. The couple has four grown children and 12 grandchildren.[3][9]
Electoral history
2020
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Shelley Hughes | 4,759 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 4,759 | 100.0% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Shelley Hughes (incumbent) | 14,751 | 71.3 | |
| Democratic | Jim Cooper[a] | 4,904 | 23.7 | |
| Libertarian | Gavin Christiansen | 998 | 4.8 | |
| Write-in | Write-ins | 29 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 20,682 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2016
| 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% | |
| Independent | Tim Hale | 4,750 | 27.7% | |
| Write-in | Write-ins | 92 | 0.54% | |
| Total votes | 10,829 | 100.0% | ||
2014
| 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% | |
| Write-in | Write-ins | 16 | 0.21% | |
| Total votes | 7,559 | 100.0% | ||
2012
| 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% | |
| Write-in | Write-ins | 282 | 4.4% | |
| Total votes | 6,465 | 100.0 | ||
Notes
- Independent candidate with Democratic nomination