The NRA gives Begich an F and three Republican tickets A+

The ticket led by Tom Begich, one of the leading candidates in Alaska's governor race, received an F from the National Rifle Association's political arm in its newly posted Alaska primary grades. Three Republican tickets received A+ ratings.

The NRA Political Victory Fund listed A+ grades for the tickets led by Shelley Hughes, Click Bishop and Lesil McGuire. Adam Crum received an A. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins received a C. Bill Walker received a D.

Publicly released polls have repeatedly placed Begich among the leaders, and Alaska is routinely identified as one of the country's most gun-friendly states: a 2026 legal index from the gun-rights advocacy group Firearms Policy Coalition gave Alaska a 95.45% score, with only Kansas and New Hampshire scoring higher. In 1994, 72.7% of Alaska voters approved a constitutional amendment explicitly protecting the individual right to keep and bear arms.

The NRA-PVF says it ranks candidates based on voting records, public statements and responses to its candidate questionnaire. As an advocacy group's scorecard, the grades are not a forecast of the race. RAND's state-level estimates put Alaska at 59% of adults living in a household with a firearm from 2007 through 2016, tied with Wyoming and behind only Montana.

The NRA-PVF also listed A+ grades for U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, both Republicans. It gave Democrat Mary Peltola an A in the U.S. Senate race, two years after the group endorsed her House campaign.

In the Aug. 18 primary, the four gubernatorial tickets with the most votes advance to the November ballot regardless of party.