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David Eastman
David Eastman (Republican Party) was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing District 27. He assumed office on January 17, 2023. He left office on January 21, 2025.
Eastman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Alaska House of Representatives to represent District 27. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
David Eastman was born in Orange County, California, and lives in Wasilla, Alaska. He served in the U.S. Army from 2002 to 2009. Eastman earned a bachelor's degree from West Point in 2003, a graduate degree from Biola University in 2008, and a graduate degree from the Acton School of Business in 2019.[1] Eastman served in the military from 2003 to 2011 and was appointed as a military summary court-martial judge. Eastman previously worked in law enforcement; he's worked as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Alaska. He was elected to serve in the Alaskan House of Representatives.[2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Eastman was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Eastman was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Eastman was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Alaska committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Health & Social Services |
| • Judiciary |
| • Rules |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Alaska House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Alaska House of Representatives District 27
The ranked-choice voting election was won by Jubilee Underwood in round 1 .
|
Total votes: 7,615 |
|||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 27
Incumbent David Eastman and Jubilee Underwood advanced from the primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 27 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Eastman (R) | 61.9 | 1,226 |
| ✔ |  | Jubilee Underwood (R) | 38.1 | 756 |
| Total votes: 1,982 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Eastman in this election.
2022
See also: Alaska House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Alaska House of Representatives District 27
The ranked-choice voting election was won by David Eastman in round 1 .
|
Total votes: 5,564 |
|||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 27
Incumbent David Eastman, Stuart Graham, and Brendan Carpenter advanced from the primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 27 on August 16, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Eastman (R) | 52.1 | 1,931 |
| ✔ | Stuart Graham (R) | 26.3 | 974 | |
| ✔ | Brendan Carpenter (R) | 21.7 | 804 | |
| Total votes: 3,709 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
See also: Alaska House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Alaska House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent David Eastman defeated Monica Stein-Olson in the general election for Alaska House of Representatives District 10 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Eastman (R) | 73.7 | 7,659 |
| Monica Stein-Olson (D) | 25.9 | 2,693 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 40 | ||
| Total votes: 10,392 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Patricia Faye-Brazel (Nonpartisan)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent David Eastman defeated Jesse Sumner in the Republican primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Eastman | 52.8 | 1,589 |
 | Jesse Sumner | 47.2 | 1,420 | |
| Total votes: 3,009 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary election
Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10
Monica Stein-Olson advanced from the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Monica Stein-Olson | 100.0 | 910 | |
| Total votes: 910 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Alaska House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent David Eastman defeated Patricia Faye-Brazel and Doyle Holmes in the general election for Alaska House of Representatives District 10 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Eastman (R) | 57.4 | 4,524 |
| Patricia Faye-Brazel (D) | 21.9 | 1,731 | ||
| Doyle Holmes (R) | 20.5 | 1,616 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 16 | ||
| Total votes: 7,887 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent David Eastman advanced from the Republican primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10 on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Eastman | 100.0 | 2,347 |
| Total votes: 2,347 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Alaska Democratic, Libertarian, and Independence parties primary election
Alaska Democratic, Libertarian, and Independence parties primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10
Patricia Faye-Brazel defeated Neal Lacy in the Alaska Democratic, Libertarian, and Independence parties primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 10 on August 21, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Patricia Faye-Brazel | 55.7 | 318 | |
 | Neal Lacy | 44.3 | 253 | |
| Total votes: 571 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Alaska House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 16, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
David Eastman defeated Patricia Faye-Brazel in the Alaska House of Representatives District 10 general election.[3][4]
| Alaska House of Representatives, District 10 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  David Eastman |
74.49% | 5,901 | |
| Democratic | Patricia Faye-Brazel | 25.51% | 2,021 | |
| Total Votes | 7,922 | |||
| Source: Alaska Secretary of State | ||||
Christian M. Hartley ran unopposed in the Alaska House of Representatives District 10 Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Alaska House of Representatives, District 10 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Christian M. Hartley (unopposed) | |
David Eastman defeated incumbent Wes Keller, Steve Menard and Andrew P. Wright in the Alaska House of Representatives District 10 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Alaska House of Representatives, District 10 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | David Eastman |
45.11% | 812 | |
| Republican | Wes Keller Incumbent | 34.22% | 616 | |
| Republican | Steve Menard | 16.06% | 289 | |
| Republican | Andrew P. Wright | 4.61% | 83 | |
| Total Votes | 1,800 | |||
Eastman raised significantly more money than Keller, having reported over $21,000 in funds raised to Keller's approximately $5,500. Keller was one of several incumbents defeated in the Alaska primary election.
2012
- See also: Alaska State Senate elections, 2012
Eastman ran in the 2012 election for Alaska State Senate District 3 (C). He was defeated by Click Bishop in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012.[7][8]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Click Bishop |
47.1% | 2,679 |
| Ralph Seekins | 31.1% | 1,768 |
| David Eastman | 21.9% | 1,246 |
| Total Votes | 5,693 | |
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
David Eastman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
David Eastman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Eastman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
As an Army officer, I chose Alaska as my first assignment because of its beautiful mountains, the opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, and the freedom that can still be found here on the Last Frontier. I will do all I can to protect that freedom and the people of the Mat-Su Valley.
As John Adams declared: “Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.”
The role of a statesman is to defend the rights and interests of the public against special interests. Compromises should further the public interest, not sell out one group of voters for the benefit of another group that is more politically connected.
I live in Wasilla with my wife Jennifer and our four children. Our kids were born in the Mat-Su. It is our home.- PFD. No part of the PFD should be taken by government without a vote of the people. State law determines the amount of the dividend. The law should be honored by every legislator. I will never support using the amount of the dividend as a political gimmick, or to extort from the people support for political policies they fundamentally oppose.
- Justice. Whether Alaskans live within city limits or not, they deserve to know that when they pick up the phone in an emergency help is on the way. When property is stolen or vandalized they need to know that crimes will be investigated promptly and property returned, if possible. Catch and release does not do justice to victims. Those who engage in violent crimes and destruction of property should be held accountable, whether that crime is shoplifting or grand theft auto. Law enforcement should never be telling the public "Sorry about what happened to you, but I have more important things to worry about." Likewise, those in custody of law enforcement are innocent until proven guilty.
- Integrity. Confidence in our public institutions has taken a beating. Some will say this is a failure of PR on the part of government agencies. I believe it is more than that. I spoke at length with the Alaska couple whose door was beaten down by the FBI simply because they attended President Trump's speech near the White House. Legislators must devote themselves to asking the hard questions and ensuring that each of our public agencies are living up to their mission providing the service for which they were commissioned. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We must be ever vigilant or forfeit the integrity of our public institutions.
As a father of four youngsters, I am committed to working to ensure that the Mat-Su Valley remains the best place in Alaska to live, work and raise our families.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2020
David Eastman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
David Eastman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Eastman's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Protecting members of the public from violent crimes and restoring justice in our criminal justice system; Protecting members of the public from theft and other property crimes; Protecting the full PFD from being taken by government without a vote of the people.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am passionate about public safety and improving the lives of the people of my district through reducing the burdens that government places on honest Alaskans. I am passionate about working to make the Mat-Su Valley the best place in Alaska to live, work and raise our families.
Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
I received a call recently from a young woman who had served time in prison and was calling in tears about SB91. Her best friend had just died, and she explained that SB91 was responsible for her friend's death. When she was in prison, it gave her an opportunity to get cleaned up and to make better life decisions. Because of SB91, when her friend was convicted she was put right back on the street, and died shortly after being released from custody. She wished that her friend had been given the same opportunity that she had had, but she was denied that opportunity and now it was too late.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2016
Eastman's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Freedom First!
Pro-Gun
Pro-Life
Pro-PFD
Pro-Education
|
” |
| —David Eastman, [10] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Alaska scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
In 2024, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 16 to May 15.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 17 to May 17.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 18 to May 18. |
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 19 to May 19.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 21 to May 20.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the legislature was in session from January 15, 2019, through May 14, 2019.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 31st Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 16 through May 13.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 17 through May 17. The legislature held a special session from May 18 to June 16, a second special session from June 16 to July 15, a one-day special session on July 27, and a fourth special session from October 23 to November 21.
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Noteworthy events
Censure by the Alaska House of Representatives (2023)
On February 22, 2023, the Alaska House of Representatives voted 35-1 to censure Wood for comments he made during a committee hearing about the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences and abuse. Eastman was the only member of the House to vote against the censure.[12]
Rep. Andrew Gray brought the censure motion against Eastman. He said that Eastman should be censured for his "offensive, insulting and unsubstantiated statements that undermine the dignity of the House."[13] In response to the censure motion, Eastman said it is unacceptable to claim that he supports child abuse when he has staked his political career on “arguing for the opposite.”
Before the hearing, committee members received information regarding the estimated cost savings for a family and the community in cases of fatal child abuse. In the meeting, Eastman asked Trevor Storrs, president and CEO of the Alaska Children’s Trust, “How would you respond to the argument that I have heard on occasion where, in the case where child abuse is fatal, obviously it’s not good for the child, but it’s actually a benefit to society because there aren’t needs for government services and whatnot over the whole course of that child’s life?” Storrs responded to Eastman’s initial comment by clarifying whether Eastman had just asked if there might be a benefit to society for a child’s death. Eastman continued, “It gets argued periodically that it’s actually a cost savings because that child is not going to need any of those government services that they might otherwise be entitled to receive and need based on growing up in this type of environment.”[12]
Censure by the Alaska House of Representatives (2017)
On May 10, 2017, the Alaska House of Representatives voted 24-14 to censure Wood for comments he made to various media outlets claiming that Alaskan women get abortions so they can get Medicaid-funded trips to Anchorage or Seattle.[14] His comments came after successfully lobbying to amend a resolution establishing abortion as the ultimate form of child abuse.
Representative Ivy Spohnholz brought the censure motion against Eastman. According to a joint press release by the majority coalition, the censure “puts the Alaska House of Representatives on record as finding that Rep. Eastman’s conduct brings the House into dishonor and disrepute.” The press release also said the censure motion is, “in direct response to comments from Rep. Eastman claiming that some women with limited healthcare options purposely get pregnant so they can subsequently choose to get an abortion in order to obtain a state-funded trip to Alaska’s urban centers or Seattle.”[14]
Eastman said, “We have folks who try to get pregnant in this state so that they can get a free trip to the city, and we have folks who want to carry their baby past the point of being able to have an abortion in this state so that they can have a free trip to Seattle.”[15] He also said, “You have individuals who are in villages and are glad to be pregnant, so that they can have an abortion because there’s a free trip to Anchorage involved.”[16]
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Alaska House of Representatives District 27 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 26, 2022
- ↑ The Alaska State Legislature, "HOUSE DAVID EASTMAN," accessed October 4, 2019
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "General Election Official Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 State of Alaska Division of Elections, "August 16, 2016 Primary Candidate List," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 State of Alaska Division of Elections, "2016 Primary Election results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "2012 Primary Candidate List," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ David Eastman, "Issues," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Alaska Business Report Card, "About," accessed November 5, 2019 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "abrc" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "abrc" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 12.0 12.1 USA Today, “An Alaska lawmaker asked about 'cost savings' in cases of fatal child abuse. He was just censured,” accessed November 22, 2023
- ↑ CBS News, “Alaska lawmaker censured over remarks about fatal child abuse,” accessed November 22, 2023
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 ‘’Alaska’s News Source,’’ “House votes 25-14 to censure Rep. Eastman over abortion statement,” accessed November 22, 2023
- ↑ ‘’Associated Press,’’ “Alaska lawmakers mull measure calling abortion ‘child abuse’,” accessed November 22, 2023
- ↑ ‘’Alaska Public Media,’’ “Rep. Eastman: Some women ‘glad’ to be pregnant for Medicaid-funded travel for abortions,” accessed November 22, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Liz Snyder (D) |
Alaska House of Representatives District 27 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Alaska House of Representatives District 10 2017-2023 |
Succeeded by Craig Johnson (R) |
