| Office | Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate |
|---|---|
| Term start | January 17, 2023 |
| Term end | January 21, 2025 |
| Predecessor | Tom Begich |
| Successor | Mike Shower |
| Office 1 | Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate |
| Term start 1 | January 19, 2021 |
| Term end 1 | January 17, 2023 |
| Predecessor 1 | Lyman Hoffman |
| Successor 1 | Cathy Giessel |
| Office 2 | Member of the Alaska Senate |
| Term start 2 | January 22, 2017 |
| Term end 2 | November 14, 2025 |
| Predecessor 2 | Bill Stoltze |
| Successor 2 | Cathy Tilton |
| Constituency 2 | District F (2017–2023) District M (2023–2025) |
| Office 3 | Member of the Alaska House of Representatives |
| Term start 3 | January 18, 2013 |
| Term end 3 | January 22, 2017 |
| Predecessor 3 | Carl Gatto (District 13, redistricted) |
| Successor 3 | DeLena Johnson |
| Constituency 3 | District 8 (2013–2015) District 11 (2015–2017) |
| Birth date | January 6, 1958 (age 68) |
| Birth place | Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Cuyahoga Community College (attended) University of Alaska, Anchorage (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Shelley Hughes (born January 6, 1958)[1] is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Alaska Senate from 2017 to 2025. Hughes represented Palmer and other parts of the southern Matanuska-Susitna Borough. She was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from January 18, 2013, until January 22, 2017.[2]
Career
Hughes has an AA from Cuyahoga Community College and a BA from the University of Alaska.[3]
Alaska House of Representatives
Hughes was appointed to the Alaska State House of Representatives by Governor Sean Parnell, succeeding the late Representative Carl Gatto, who died on April 10, 2012.[4] Hughes was then elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2012, beating Daniel Hamm in the primary election.[5]
Alaska Senate
Hughes was first elected to the Alaska Senate in its 2016 election. In 2021, she was chosen to be the majority leader of the Alaska Senate. She resigned from the Senate in November 2025 in order to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.[6]
Health care
In September 2021, Hughes was part of a panel of Alaska legislators focused on health care. Hughes argued that Alaska was "the highest cost location on the globe" for the cost of drug and medical treatment, and said she was looking at pharmacy benefit management and increased price transparency as ways to keep costs down.[7]
Transgender athletes
In May 2021, Hughes introduced a bill into the Alaska Senate that would ban transgender women and girls from playing in women's sports. The bill required that public schools, or private schools with teams that compete against public schools, have gender-segregated sporting teams and that any participant on the girls' team "must be female, based on the participant's biological sex."[8] Because the bill was introduced in the final few weeks of the legislative session, Hughes announced that she would push for it in the next legislative session instead.[8]
Personal life
Hughes had been married to her husband, Roger Hughes, for 48 years when he died on May 23, 2026. He had served in the a Vietnam War as a combat medic and later worked as a physician's assistant in civilian life. The couple has four grown children and 12 grandchildren.[3][9]
References
- ^ "Shelley Hughes". Juneau, Alaska: Alaska Legislature. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ "Representative Shelley Hughes' Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ "Senator Shelley Hughes". Alaska Legislature
- ^ Wellner, Andrew (2012-05-03). "Hughes picked to replace Gatto in Legislature". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "State of Alaska 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012 Official Results". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ "Alaska Republican Senator Shelley Hughes resigns to pursue gubernatorial campaign". KTOO. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
- ^ Kispert, Ethan (September 20, 2021). "Legislative Democrats and Republicans discuss health care now and in the future". State of Reform. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ Bohrer, Becky (May 13, 2021). "Alaska bill would bar transgender girls from female sports". AP News. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "Roger Hughes Obituary," Janssen Funeral Homes, Inc., May 26, 2026. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
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