Trump endorses Wilson

President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Bernadette Wilson for Alaska governor Tuesday afternoon, then accused rival Dave Bronson of breaking a private promise to leave the race.

In two Truth Social posts published shortly before his scheduled rally in Wasilla, Trump said Bronson had asked for his endorsement and later agreed to withdraw at Trump's request. Trump claimed Bronson reversed course three days later without telling him.

Trump offered no evidence for his account of the private conversation, and Alaska News could not independently verify it. Bronson never publicly withdrew. Days after the Aug. 18 primary, he said he was "not backing down" or stepping aside.

Trump also dismissed former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor as a third Republican candidate he had never heard of. He said Bronson and Taylor would take votes from Wilson and urged Republicans to unite behind her.

"Bernadette Wilson truly deserves to WIN, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Alaska," Trump wrote.

Wilson thanked Trump in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon. "I am incredibly honored to have your support and look forward to partnering with your Administration to bring lasting prosperity to Alaska!" she wrote. Wilson added that Alaska conservatives were united to win the race.

Trump said Wilson "easily won" the primary. Wilson was the highest-finishing Republican, but she did not finish first overall in Alaska's open primary. Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins placed first, Democrat Tom Begich placed second, Wilson placed third with about 10% of the vote and Bronson placed fourth with about 8%, according to election results. Taylor placed fifth and moved onto the general-election ballot after Begich withdrew.

The Nov. 3 election now includes Kreiss-Tomkins and the three Republicans. It will be decided by ranked-choice voting. Voters can rank all four candidates. If nobody wins a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots could transfer to the next ranked choice.

That means Bronson and Taylor can draw first-choice votes from Wilson without necessarily preventing their supporters from ranking her later. Bronson and Taylor have previously rejected calls to withdraw and encouraged Republicans to rank the GOP candidates. Wilson and Rep. Nick Begich have called for the Republican field to consolidate.

Trump's posts appeared shortly after 2 pm. He was scheduled to speak at 3:30 pm at the Menard Memorial Sports Center in a rally promoted around Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich. Trump praised both men in the first of Tuesday's posts before turning to the governor's race.

Wilson, Bronson and Taylor had all been expected to attend the rally. Alaska News could not locate public responses from the Bronson or Taylor campaigns to Trump's new posts as of 3 pm.