Senator Forrest Dunbar Contact information

Forrest Dunbar, born on September 19, 1984, is an American politician, attorney, and military officer. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has been serving as a member of the Alaska Senate, representing Anchorage District J since 2023.

Dunbar was born and raised in Eagle, Alaska, on the Yukon River, and Cordova, Alaska, on Prince William Sound. His parents moved to Alaska to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the late 1970s. His father, Roger, worked for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game as a fisheries technician, while his mother, Miriam, was a special education aide and librarian.

Dunbar attended American University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Service and won the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He went on to earn a dual MPP/JD from the Harvard Kennedy School and Yale Law School. He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Kazakhstan, and an officer and Judge Advocate in the Alaska Army National Guard.

Before his political career, Dunbar was an intern for officeholders including governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski and U.S. House delegate Madeleine Bordallo. While he was an intern in Washington, D.C., he participated in peace marches opposing the Iraq War; he credits them as a significant inspiration to enter civil service. Before being involved in electoral politics, Dunbar was a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan.

In 2014, Dunbar launched a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives running against Republican incumbent Don Young, who had represented Alaska’s at-large congressional district for 41 years and was running for his 21st full term. He easily won the nomination in the primary election; Libertarian candidate Jim McDermott also advanced to the general election. Dunbar received 41% of the vote in the general election, losing to Young by 10 percentage points in the closest race for the seat since 2008.

Dunbar was first elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 2016, defeating Terre Gales with 61.6% of the vote in the fifth district, representing the eastern portion of the city. He has since been re-elected twice, in 2019 unopposed, and in 2022 with 55.4% of the vote against Stephanie Taylor.