Open South Midtown seat draws three candidates after Josephson opts not to seek reelection.

House District 13 is open, and South Midtown Anchorage now has a three-way filing-day story.

The Alaska Division of Elections lists Lisa Keller, a Democrat, as certified. It lists Felix Rivera, a Democrat, as pending. It also lists Sarah Short, a Republican, as pending.

That makes the district more than a quiet handoff.

The seat is now held by Rep. Andy Josephson, a Democrat who has represented District 13 for many years. Official 2024 results show Josephson won reelection with 3,743 votes, to Republican Heather Gottshall's 3,266 votes.

Josephson is not listed in the 2026 House District 13 race. He is opting to not seek reelection.

So HD13 voters are not just choosing between names. They are choosing what comes after Josephson in a South Midtown district where the last race was competitive enough to matter.

The district is built around South Midtown precincts. The official district map marks corridors around International, Dowling, Raspberry, Minnesota, Arctic, C Street, Potter and the 64th and 70th Avenue area. It is Anchorage in the middle of things: roads, rentals, schools, parks, shelters, small businesses and neighborhoods that hear city problems before they become state talking points.

Keller worked for Reps. Andy Josephson and Alyse Galvin in Juneau and is running on public safety, schools and a sustainable fiscal future.

Rivera is a former Anchorage Assembly member for District 4, Midtown, whose name is already attached to local government fights over housing, homelessness and public process.

Short is the late Republican filing on the state list, giving Republicans a place on the ballot in a district where the last general election was decided by 477 votes.

Josephson's 2024 margin shows a Democratic incumbent held the seat, but not by the kind of number that lets either party ignore it. An open seat is not the same thing as an incumbent's reelection. Keller and Rivera both have ways to argue they know South Midtown. Short gives Republicans a chance in a district that just lost a long-serving Democratic incumbent.

The easy version of this race is to say Josephson left and three candidates filed.

The better version is this: South Midtown is getting a test of succession. One candidate is running from the Josephson-Galvin legislative orbit. One is running from Anchorage Assembly experience. One is a late Republican filing in a district that just lost a long-serving Democratic incumbent.

For voters in HD13, filing day turned an open seat into a real choice.