{ "id": "epd8vd79na", "slug": "bryce-edgmon", "title": "Bryce Edgmon", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.politics", "label": "Politics and government", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.politics" }, { "id": "society.politics.institutions", "label": "Government and public administration", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.politics.institutions" }, { "id": "society.politics.institutions.politicians_and_officeholders", "label": "Politicians and government officeholders (biographies)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.politics.institutions.politicians_and_officeholders" }, { "id": "society.politics.institutions.politicians_and_officeholders.us-governors-and-state-officials", "label": "US governors and state officials", "api_url": 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and again from 2025.", "node": "society.politics.institutions.politicians_and_officeholders.us-governors-and-state-officials.state-legislators.western-and-pacific-state-legislators.alpha-d-to-h", "markdown": "# Bryce Edgmon\n\nBryce Edgmon is an American politician who serves as Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives. A Dillingham independent, he was first elected to the House in 2006, served as Speaker from 2017 to 2021, and returned to the role in 2025.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) • [2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) In 2026 he sought a seat in the Alaska Senate rather than reelection to his House seat.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Party | Independent[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) |\n| Current office | Speaker, Alaska House of Representatives[3](https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/34?code=edg) |\n| Previous offices | Representative, Alaska House (elected 2006); Speaker of the Alaska House (2017–2021); Chair, City of Dillingham Planning Commission[3](https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/34?code=edg) • [2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) |\n| Education | Business administration degree, University of Alaska Anchorage; Dillingham High School[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) |\n\n## Party affiliation\n\nEdgmon originally served as a Democrat and later changed his voter registration to undeclared, aligning himself with bipartisan coalition politics in the [Legislature](https://www.edgepedia.org/legislature).[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) He is now registered as an independent.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) He leads a bipartisan 21-member majority in the House.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/)\n\n## Early life and education\n\nEdgmon was born and raised in Dillingham and still calls the [Bristol Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/bristol-bay) community home when he is not in Juneau.[4](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate) He is three-sixteenths Aleut and comes from a commercial fishing background.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) Before entering politics, he spent more than two decades commercial fishing for salmon and herring. He served as chairman of Choggiung Ltd., the Alaska Native village corporation serving Dillingham, Ekuk, and Portage Creek; as chief operating officer of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation; and as chair of the City of Dillingham Planning Commission.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) • [3](https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/34?code=edg) He graduated from Dillingham High School and earned a business administration degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/)\n\n## Career\n\nEdgmon was first elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2006 and has served continuously since 2007.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) He held the speaker's gavel from 2017 to 2021 and again beginning in 2025, and is the most senior member of the House, with two decades of tenure in the chamber.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) • [2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) He was the first Alaska Native speaker of the House.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) His official legislative page lists his prior roles as chair of the City of Dillingham Planning Commission, a member of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, a board member of the Southwest Alaska Vocational Education Center, and chief operating officer of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation.[3](https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/34?code=edg)\n\n## Electoral history\n\n- **2006** – Edgmon was elected to the Alaska House after defeating incumbent Carl Moses in a race ultimately decided by a coin toss.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/)\n\n## Issues specific to Edgmon\n\nIn May 2026, Edgmon announced he would not seek reelection to his House seat and instead registered to run for an open state Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Bethel Democrat who had served nearly 40 years and encouraged Edgmon to run.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) \"I think the timing is right to make that move from the House to the Senate,\" Edgmon said.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) The Senate district stretches from the Aleutian Chain to the Kuskokwim Delta.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) Other candidates in the race included Darren Deacon, a Republican from Kalskag; Wassilie \"WG\" Guy, a Democrat from Napaskiak; Richard \"Rick\" Robb, an independent from Bethel; and Wayne Morgan, an independent from Aniak.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) Edgmon's decision left his House District 37 seat open, with candidates including Evelynn Trefon, a Democrat from Newhalen, and Mark Smith, an independent from Aleknagik; Edgmon said he was not prepared to endorse anyone in that race.[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/)\n\nIn February 2026, Edgmon and another top state lawmaker released an open letter addressed to Sens. [Lisa Murkowski](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-murkowski) and Dan Sullivan and Rep. [Nick Begich III](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-begich-iii), urging \"a reasoned approach\" to the Trump administration's budget-slashing initiatives.[5](https://www.kucb.org/show/island-interviews/2026-06-26/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-on-his-state-senate-run-and-recent-legislative-session)\n\n## Positions and voting record\n\n### Energy costs and the Alaska LNG project\n\nEdgmon has emphasized energy costs as a central issue for rural Alaska, where many communities rely on barged fuel. He said gasoline prices in Dillingham rose above $9 per gallon after the first spring barge, driven up by the war in Iran, and that fall fuel deliveries could be even higher: \"The last round of fuel coming into the area could even be higher, which just scares me to the bone.\"[1](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/) • [4](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate) He said he and other lawmakers worked during the 2026 regular session to pass a budget with more than $50 million in funds aimed at energy relief, saying, \"I did everything I could to work with members of both the House and Senate to make sure that every single program that we had available could be funded and be made available.\"[4](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate) On the Alaska LNG gas line project, which he said could cost $55 billion or more and has been pursued since the 1970s, Edgmon said it is closer than ever to happening and that, as House speaker, he is helping steer a related tax break bill toward a compromise. He said communities like Unalaska could eventually see relief on energy costs if the project is completed, though not right away.[5](https://www.kucb.org/show/island-interviews/2026-06-26/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-on-his-state-senate-run-and-recent-legislative-session)\n\n### Mining\n\nEdgmon has been an opponent of the proposed Pebble Mine and of moves by the state to support the project.[4](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate) On the proposed Donlin Gold project, which would fall within the Senate district he sought, he said he still has a lot to learn: \"In the Y-K area, I'm going to be doing a lot of listening, a lot of learning, a lot of talking with people, but I will always, always put subsistence and fish first, no matter what.\"[4](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate)\n\n### Rural priorities\n\nEdgmon has long emphasized rural priorities, including fisheries, subsistence rights, public safety, energy costs, education funding, and infrastructure needs in Bush Alaska communities.[2](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/) He has pointed to collapsing seafood markets and vanishing air service as key struggles for his district.[5](https://www.kucb.org/show/island-interviews/2026-06-26/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-on-his-state-senate-run-and-recent-legislative-session) On the value of legislative experience amid retirements of veteran members, he said, \"The most immediate example at the moment, of course, is the debate on the gas line, which reaches into very arcane, complicated issues like oil taxation and things like that, that only a veteran legislator who's, who's been through the past episodes can fully, in my mind, appreciate and grasp.\"[4](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate)\n\n## References\n\n1. [House Speaker Bryce Edgmon to run for state Senate, Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/27/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-to-run-for-state-senate/)\n2. [Bryce Edgmon throws hat in for Senate seat for Western Alaska, Alaska Story](https://thealaskastory.com/bryce-edgmon-throws-hat-in-for-senate-seat-for-western-alaska/)\n3. [Representative Bryce Edgmon, Alaska State Legislature](https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/34?code=edg)\n4. [House Speaker Bryce Edgmon says he can represent a broader swath of Southwest Alaska in state Senate, KYUK](https://www.kyuk.org/politics/2026-05-29/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-says-he-can-represent-a-broader-swath-of-southwest-alaska-in-state-senate)\n5. [House Speaker Bryce Edgmon on his state Senate run and recent legislative session, KUCB](https://www.kucb.org/show/island-interviews/2026-06-26/house-speaker-bryce-edgmon-on-his-state-senate-run-and-recent-legislative-session)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Politicians and government officeholders (biographies) › US governors and state officials › State legislators › Western and Pacific state legislators › Surnames D to H*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Bryce Edgmon\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Bryce Edgmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Bryce Edgmon\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-edgmon. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Bryce Edgmon is an independent politician from Dillingham, Alaska, first elected to the Alaska House in 2006, who served as Speaker from 2017 to 2021 and again from 2025." }