David Nelson (born August 13, 1996) is an American politician who is a member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

from the 18th district. A Republican, he previously represented the 15th district from 2021 to 2023. He was defeated by Democrat

Cliff Groh Clifford John Groh II (Cliff Groh) (born March 3, 1954, in Anchorage) is an American politician. A Democrat, he was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives for the Alaska House District 18 in round two of the Alaska 2022 General Election ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, but defeated Groh for the seat in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life and education

Nelson was born in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, and raised in

Sanford, Florida Sanford is a city and the county seat of Seminole County, Florida, United States. It is located in Central Florida and its population was 61,051 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna C ...

in 2018. During college, he was a member of the

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military bases across the world. The progr ...

Career

After graduating from college, Nelson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Alaska Army National Guard The Alaska Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Along with the Alaska Air National Guard, it makes up the Alaska National Guard. Alaska Army National Guard units ...

. He serves as a

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nucl ...

officer for in 207th Aviation Regiment at

Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson is a United States military facility in Anchorage, Alaska. It is a joint base formed from the United States Air Force's Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army's Fort Richardson, which were merged ...

. Nelson has also worked as a defense contractor and as the president of the Mid-Town Rotary Club of Anchorage. He was elected to the

in November 2020 and assumed office on January 19, 2021. In 2022, redistricting of Alaska's state house districts placed Nelson in the newly created House District 18, where he ran for re-election. He was challenged by two Democrats, Lyn Franks and Cliff Groh. None of the three candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote on Election Day, so due to Alaska's ranked choice voting system, the race went to an instant runoff between Nelson and Groh. Nelson was ultimately unseated by Groh.

Electoral history

2024

Primary

General

References

External links

Official website/

David Nelson
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

1996 births Living people Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature University of Alaska Anchorage alumni {{Alaska-politician-stub