The race for Alaska’s next governor grew a bit larger this week with the entrance of right-wing organizer and former talk radio personality Bernadette Wilson.
That makes her the third candidate and third Republican to file to begin fundraising and campaigning for a seat that’s expected to draw a crowded field as Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has reached his term limits. She’s also the first to never have held elected office.
Last week, former state Sen. Click Bishop and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom kicked off the race by filing with state campaign regulators. Bishop served in the Alaska Legislature from 2013 to 2025 and previously worked as the Labor Commissioner. Dahlstrom was elected lieutenant governor in 2022 and had been elected to the House in Eagle River twice. She also held the job of Corrections Commissioner under Dunleavy.
While Wilson has never held elected office, she’s no stranger in conservative circles.
She’s managed several campaigns, including that of right-wing former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, a 2010 ballot initiative requiring parental consent if a minor is seeking an abortion (it passed, but it was struck down as unconstitutional) and the latest effort to repeal ranked-choice voting. She was also a key figure protesting Anchorage’s COVID-19 precautions.
She launched her campaign with an announcement on the steps of the Alaska Capitol, which was streamed by right-wing blog Must Read Alaska. In it, she reiterated much of the conservative grievances and fixation on the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that legislators’ approach to public school funding is “as random as Dr. Fauci’s six-foot distancing rule.”
While names like former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and Attorney General Treg “Corporate-paid Travel is the Best Kind of Travel for Someone Charged with Upholding the Law” Taylor have been floated as serious contenders for the office, let’s examine who is 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.
Let’s take a look at our updated VIBES power ranking as of May 14, 2025. Past ranking here.
1. Click Bishop
Pros: Moderate, labor-friendly Republican that Democrats could live with
Cons: Largely reviled by the Alaska Republican Party machine for being a moderate, labor-friendly Republican that Democrats can live with
2. Bernadette Wilson
Pros: An ultra-MAGA mudslinger who understands that grievance and alternate facts go a long way in today’s modern political world
Cons: Alaska’s modern political world also now votes with ranked-choice voting, so appealing to extremes doesn’t get the same mileage it used to
3. Nancy Dahlstrom
Pros: Has been endorsed by Trump.
Cons: The Trump endorsement didn’t go very far, and she dropped out of the race after a poor showing in the primary election.
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.
