He listed two Alaska move-in dates. Then he quit the race.

Daniel Cooper filed to run for a Kenai-area House seat twice, and each time he told the state a different story about when he became an Alaskan. His October filing said June 2023. His December filing said November 2022. Neither date, on its own, clearly cleared the three years of residency the Alaska Constitution requires.

The Division of Elections wrote to him June 16 saying it lacked sufficient evidence he qualified, and gave him until June 25 to produce documentation. He answered the next morning. "I will not be able to prove my intent to remain through documentation," Cooper wrote to Division Director Carol Beecher, adding that he would close out his campaign finance reports and pull his name from the ballot.

His voter record was part of what raised the question. State records show Cooper registered in Alaska in June 2020 and voted that November, then re-registered in March 2024 and voted in the 2024 primary and general and the 2025 Kenai Borough election. Because he had registered in a different district within the past year, the division had to hold him to a higher standard of proof than it applies to most candidates.

Alaska defines residency as physical presence plus an intent to stay indefinitely — and presence alone does not satisfy it. Cooper's withdrawal narrows the House District 7 field ahead of the Aug. 18 primary.