A retired Wasilla man is spending $11,000 to oppose a candidate for governor

A retired Wasilla man has committed about $11,000 of his own money to oppose gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson ahead of Tuesday's state primary. John Richard Carr disclosed the spending in a report filed Aug. 6 with the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

Carr paid a campaign firm directly for online advertising against Wilson, mostly ads on Facebook and Instagram, plus targeted digital ads and two videos. Because he paid a vendor rather than giving to a candidate or group, the spending counts as an independent expenditure, which the state requires him to report but does not cap.

The contrast with Tuesday's ballot is sharp. Ballot Measure 1, which voters decide the same day, would cap what an individual can give directly to a candidate at $2,000 per election cycle. It would not touch independent spending like Carr's.

The filing is the only account of the spending, and it does not say why he is doing it.