Alaska News tracks gubernatorial candidates, endorsements, and campaign developments in Alaska's governor races.
Alaska's deadline could have thinned its 17-way governor race. It barely did: the GOP field stayed packed, and the headline move was just a McGuire running-mate swap.

Alaska's 17-candidate governor scrum got a deadline to shrink. It shrank by one Democrat — while a dozen Republicans eyed each other and nobody blinked.

Wasilla's mayor is term-limited, so the seat's open this fall — and Stu Graham is first to signal a run, filing before the July 20–31 window even opens.

Former state Sen. Lesil McGuire filed to run for governor Friday, joining a crowded 2026 race shaped by Alaska's open primary and ranked choice voting system that she defended in 2024.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former Sitka legislator, launched a six-figure ad campaign across Meta, YouTube, and radio for Alaska's 2026 governor's race, focusing on schools, fisheries, and cost of living.
Former Gov. Bill Walker filed to run for Alaska governor Thursday, four days before the June 1 deadline, reshaping a race where three other candidates also announced running mates this week.
Begich picks Hnilicka as running mate.

A Kodiak seiners' group endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins for governor on a fisheries platform — though "restore balance to the Board of Fish" means very different things to different fishermen.

Two Alaska Democrats marked the Dobbs anniversary vowing to protect abortion rights — which the state constitution already has, since 1972. Anniversary politics, on cue.

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democratic-aligned candidate for Alaska governor, selected Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson as his running mate on the final filing day Monday.

Former Anchorage mayor Dave Bronson filed Friday to run for Alaska governor as a Republican, pledging aggressive resource development and lower energy costs.

Dave Bronson, Anchorage mayor from 2021 to 2024, filed to run for Alaska governor as a Republican, pledging to cut bureaucracy and boost resource development. The primary is August 18, 2026.

Coast Guard will homeport four icebreakers in Alaska by 2028, with two in Kodiak, one in Seward, and a fourth location to be named, funded by $3.5 billion in federal legislation.

Josh Church, a Fairbanks wealth manager and Marine Corps veteran, filed Thursday to run for lieutenant governor in 2026 as a Republican.

University of Virginia's Crystal Ball rated Alaska's 2026 Senate race a toss-up, shifting from lean Republican after Democrat Mary Peltola entered against incumbent Dan Sullivan. • Peltola's campaign says she leads in eight consecutive polls and unveiled a wages-focused tax proposal. • Republican super PACs committed $21 million to oppose her.

Governor Dunleavy vetoed a bill requiring rural transit programs be included in statewide transportation planning, saying the state already does this work.

Soldotna commercial fisherman Hank Kroll filed to run for Alaska governor as a Republican. • He proposes acquiring 28 million federal acres and tying Permanent Fund Dividend payments to land transfers to boost food production. • Alaska imports 90 to 95 percent of its food from outside the state.

The Coast Guard will homeport two Arctic Security Cutters in Kodiak and one in Seward starting in 2028, funded by $3.5 billion in the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act.




AI 15% · Mkt 32% · Poll 21%
AI 16% · Mkt 16% · Poll 8%
AI 3% · Mkt 23% · Poll 12%
AI 17% · Mkt 6% · Poll 9%
AI 9% · Mkt 2% · Poll 8%
AI 3% · Mkt 6% · Poll 10%
AI 5% · Mkt 8% · Poll 5%
AI 5% · Mkt 1% · Poll 5%
AI 3% · Mkt 0% · Poll 6%
AI 1% · Mkt 0%
AI 0% · Mkt 0%
Composite = avg of AI + Markets + Polls. 7-day average through 2026-07-20.
View full analysis on votingmonitor.org →