September 20, 2015 — KODIAK, Ala. — A newly minted lawyer and former Kodiak setnetter is challenging U.S. Rep. Don Young in next year’s Republican Party primary.

Paul Hannan, who moved back to the Kenai Peninsula town of Homer in June after three years of law school in Alabama, makes up for his scant political experience with self-confidence.

If elected, Hannan says, he’d improve American relations with Russia by scheduling a sit-down with President Vladimir Putin, through Hannan’s connections with the Russian Orthodox Church.

He has a plan to cut down on the number of suicides committed by Alaska Natives. And, Hannan says, he could force through construction of a long-sought road through a national wildlife refuge sought by residents of King Cove on the Alaska Peninsula — a project that remains unbuilt despite an unrelenting campaign from the state’s congressional delegation.

“Within the first 90 days in Congress, I will get that deal done,” Hannan said in a phone interview Thursday. “I know how to cut deals — I’ve got a bit of Trump in me.”

Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News