The four top vote-getters in the August 18 primary were Democrats Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (JKT) and Tom Begich, and Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson. But Begich withdrew to support JKT, who also has the endorsement of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), the largest labor federation in the United States.
The confirmed tickets for the November 3, election were Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and his running mate, nonpartisan Zac Johnson; Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Mike Shower; and fellow Republicans Dave Bronson and Josh Church. Begich’s withdrawal meant the fifthplace primary ticket would move up to become the voters’ fourth option.
That fourth ticket was awaiting certification and consisted of Republicans Candi English and Jodi Taylor because Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom had refused to certify Treg Taylor, who finished fifth in the primary, after the campaign finance commission concluded that he had failed to properly disclose his sources of income by the deadline.
As a result, his running mate, Candi English, became the candidate for governor and selected Taylor’s wife, Jodi Taylor, as her running mate for lieutenant governor.
But Lt. Gov. Dahlstrom introduced another twist in the race when she decided to reinstate Treg Taylor as the fourth candidate on the ballot.
The November 3, election will use ranked-choice voting. Voters will be able to rank the candidates, with the lowest vote-getters eliminated in successive rounds until one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
This is the electoral system that has been in place in Alaska for six years—and that Elon Musk and other billionaires want to eliminate.
The final lineup is therefore as follows:
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (JKT) served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023, representing his hometown of Sitka and other rural communities in Southeast Alaska. He became widely known for championing the 2014 law recognizing the state’s 20 Indigenous languages as official languages. His priorities include public education, housing, and affordable energy, along with increasing the oil industry’s tax contributions. He cultivates a youthful image with appeal across party lines.
Bernadette Wilson is a businesswoman and conservative activist who has never held elected office. She represents the populist wing of the right, advocating oil and mining development, less government intervention, and Dave Bronson, a former Anchorage mayor, is a combative conservative with close ties to Christian organizations. He supports natural resource development, low taxes, public safety, and protection of the state’s oil-funded dividend. His tenure as mayor was marked by major political controversies.
And finally, Treg Taylor, former attorney general of Alaska from January 2021 to August 2025 (he resigned), is running with Candi English, who returns to her original position as the candidate for lieutenant governor. Democratic state legislator Andrew Gray had called for Taylor and his wife, Jodi, to be prosecuted over alleged violations involving their financial disclosures, although that request did not constitute a formal criminal charge. Taylor is aligned with Donald Trump. He advocates expanding energy, mining, and timber development, advancing the gas pipeline, and streamlining permitting; lowering energy, housing, and food costs, although he does not explain how; cracking down on crime; defending the Second Amendment—that is, gun ownership rights—and limiting what he considers “federal overreach.” conservative social values.
