Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy sits in the Cabinet Room at his Anchorage office Tuesday. (Photo by Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)
Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy attended an oil industry fundraiser for former President Donald Trump in Texas earlier this month.
Dunleavy visited the state for business meetings connected to a natural gas pipeline project his administration hopes to build from Alaska’s North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula, the governor said in an interview.
While in Texas, he attended a reception in Houston to benefit Trump, he added. The event was co-hosted by billionaire Jeff Hildebrand.
Hildebrand is the founder of Hilcorp, a privately owned oil company that’s become one of Alaska’s largest producers in recent years. Hilcorp’s structure makes it exempt from state corporate income taxes — drawing an unsuccessful attempt by state lawmakers to change the law earlier this year.
Hildebrand and his wife have donated more than $1 million this year to Trump’s political operation, according to reports by Bloomberg and Climate Power.
I would not rule it out.
– Gov. Mike Dunleavy, on the possibility of joining a new Trump administration
Dunleavy’s connection to Trump, meanwhile, has fueled speculation in Alaska’s political circles about whether he could get a job in a future Trump administration. Dunleavy also sat in the former president’s seating area at the Republican convention in July.
“I haven’t had that conversation with the president, yet,” Dunleavy said, when asked if he’d take a job with Trump in Washington, D.C. “You have to have the conversation.”
He added: “I would not rule it out.”
Nathaniel Herz welcomes tips at natherz@gmail.com or (907) 793-0312. This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Herz. Subscribe at this link.
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