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Seventeen candidates compete in top-four primary for open Alaska governor's office

By

Nathan Maxwell

Seventeen candidates are running in the top-four primary for Governor of Alaska on August 18, 2026. Six candidates — Tom Begich (D), Click Bishop (R), David Bronson (R), Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D), Bill Walker (Nonpartisan), and Bernadette Wilson (R) — lead in polling and media attention.

Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) is term-limited. Alaska's last Democratic governor, Tony Knowles, left office in 2002. All 17 candidates — 12 Republicans, two Democrats, and three independents — will appear on a single ballot, and the top four advance to a ranked-choice voting general election.

Anchorage Daily News's Iris Samuels wrote, "Some Republicans also recognize that with so many in the race, the pool of would-be GOP votes will be divided among many contenders, potentially providing an advantage for moderates and Democrats." Wilson urged each Republican candidate to pledge to drop out if they were not the top GOP finisher, saying, "Winning this election for the future of Alaska and conservative values is vastly more important than any of us individually." Democratic support was consolidated around the two remaining Democrats — Begich and Kreiss-Tomkins — after state Sen. Matt Claman (D) exited the race just before the June 27 withdrawal deadline.

  • Begich, a former minority leader of the Alaska State Senate and family to three current or former U.S. Congressmen, is running on education funding, fiscal reform, and affordable energy.
  • Bishop, a former state labor commissioner and state senator, is running on affordable energy: "If you had a No. 1 and No. 2 and a No. 3, it's affordable energy, affordable energy, affordable energy."
  • Bronson, former mayor of Anchorage and retired military and commercial pilot, is campaigning on "economic growth, infrastructure, affordable housing, stronger schools, and protecting the Permanent Fund Dividend."
  • Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state representative, said he supported the bipartisan coalition in the House: "I feel like we need that same spirit and approach to governance in the executive branch." Kreiss-Tomkins said he did not want to run against Begich directly: "I just want to run my own campaign. Ultimately, I think the primary gives voters the opportunity just to sort of see who they feel most excited by and energized by."
  • Walker, governor from 2014 to 2018, said he was running out of concern over fiscal issues: "We need to have a plan that we're not drawing down our savings every year, and … a long-term plan for the future and a stable fiscal regime, rather than the ups and downs tied totally to oil."
  • Wilson, an Anchorage businesswoman and activist, is running on her business experience and as a political outsider: "I think it's time that we take someone with a business background and entrepreneurial spirit, someone that hasn't been jaded, you know, within the halls of this building, and we get infrastructure done."

Adam Crum (R), Edna DeVries (R), Meda DeWitt (Nonpartisan), Michael Gilbert (R), Matt Heilala (R), Shelley Hughes (R), Hank Kroll (R), Lesil McGuire (R), James Parkin (R), Destry Payne Sr. (Undeclared), and Treg Taylor (R) are also running.