The race to be Alaska’s next governor kicked off this week when two Republicans filed the paperwork to begin fundraising and campaigning in what is expected to be a crowded field.
The next governor will face numerous challenges, given a state budget that looks more grim by the day, but also has the opportunity to change the course after eight years of largely status quo leadership from far-right Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. After promising deep cuts to fund a big Permanent Fund Dividend that never materialized, Dunleavy has stood in the way of just about everything, from public school funding to achieving a balanced budget to securing funding for the Alaska Long Trail.
That could change depending on who’s in office next.
While names like former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and Attorney General Treg Taylor, who made headlines recently for taking a ritzy trip funded by corporate groups, have been floated as serious contenders for the office, let’s look at who’s officially in the race and rank them based on our Votable Index Based Entirely on Science (VIBES) analysis of their ability to win in 2026.
And be sure to check back in when more candidates join the race.
Click Bishop – Someone’s Gotta Be First
Bishop is an affable, moderate pro-labor Republican with a long history of involvement and support for organized labor. He served in the Alaska Legislature, representing Fairbanks and the Interior, from 2013 to 2025, when he left to prepare for this run for governor. Before that, he also served as the state’s Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development under Palin and Parnell.
While Bishop carved out a folksy and likeable moderate place in the Alaska Legislature – championing measures like the education raffle – that earned him a lot of respect across the political spectrum, his biggest drawback is likely that legislators really just don’t have that much built-in name recognition (not all of Alaskans are Legislature sickos, like your author).
His moderate position and place in the Senate’s bipartisan coalitions put him on the outs with the loyalty-first Alaska Republican Party, but that could make for an interesting party-agnostic campaign, as there’s a lot of talk he might not pick a Republican running mate.
Nancy Dahlstrom – A Distant Second
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom has an impressive-sounding resume as the state’s second-in-command, having served as the former commissioner of the Department of Corrections and a one-time Trump-endorsed candidate for Congress. While she’s sometimes characterized as a moderate or Reasonable Republican, those labels are more a product of her maintaining a low profile on just about everything. Remember, she chose to run with Gov. Mike Dunleavy after everything from his first term.
That said, Alaskans have already had the option to vote for Dahlstrom on her own, and it didn’t go well. She entered the race for U.S. House with Trump’s endorsement but was quickly and unceremoniously forced out of the race – an effort that included threats of harsh political consequences if she didn’t – after a badly disappointing primary election finish. Not exactly inspiring.
That said, Dahlstrom’s track record of party loyalty could still put her on a short list of party-approved GOP candidates heading into the race.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
