The race for Alaska’s next governor continues to swell as a varied assortment of conservative Republicans pile into the race.
The field now stands at six Republicans with the recent entry of an Anchorage podiatrist who has spearheaded the attack on trans youth care from his spot on the State Medical Board and an Angoon teacher who hopes the state can be most things to most people. The race has yet to see filings for any Democrats or independents.
Right-wing GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy has reached his term limit.
The most recent entry is Matt Heilala, an Anchorage podiatrist who, as the Dunleavy-appointed chair of the State Medical Board, led an effort to ask legislators to limit access to gender-affirming care. In an interview with Alaska Public Media, he also said he supported the governor’s expansion of public charter schools and homeschool programs, which critics argue primarily benefit wealthier families.
The fifth entry into the race, retired Angoon teacher James Parkin, is a less by-the-numbers Republican. While he supports a large dividend, he also told KTOO that he would like to see increased funding for public schools and the re-establishment of a public employee pension program. Those two positions would put him at odds with Dunleavy and his allies, who have opposed both measures.
They join Republicans Click Bishop, Nancy Dahlstrom, Edna Devries and Bernadette Wilson as having officially filed to campaign for governor. There are also rumors that Attorney General Treg Taylor — Dunleavy’s current attorney general after the first two resigned in disgrace — and Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum, who is at the heart of ongoing questions about the Dunleavy administration’s suspicious handling of oil tax payments, could join the race.
So, without further ado, let’s see how they all stack up according to our Votable Index Based Entirely on Science (VIBES) analysis of their ability to win in 2026.
1. Click Bishop
Pros: Moderate, labor-friendly Republican that Democrats could live with, meaning that he can capitalize on the political center of the state’s ranked-choice voting system. His running mate will be a particularly interesting signal of what kind of campaign he’s running.
Cons: Largely reviled by the Alaska Republican Party machine for being a moderate, labor-friendly Republican that Democrats can live with.
2. Edna DeVries
Pros: Has won a bunch of races in Mat-Su and Palmer, and is reasonably well respected in conservative circles.
Cons: While the Mat-Su is an important voting bloc, it won’t carry you to statewide office. She will be 85 by the time she’s sworn in, which is a point that Republican media has seemed to fixate on following her filing, suggesting a point of attack from the establishment.
3. 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.
4. Matt Heilala
Pros: Has the outward appearance of competence that comes with being a doctor while also being a key figure in the right’s freak-out over trans kids.
Cons: A key figure in the right’s freak-out-of-the-month over trans kids. Will that even be an issue in 2026?
5. James William Parkin IV
Pros: He is ostensibly a working-class-focused guy with his support for bigger PFDs, funded schools and public employee pensions.
Cons: In an academic sense, the problem is how you pay for it all. In a political sense, he’s too far out of line with the current Republican marching orders to garner the sort of support you’d need for a serious run.
6. Lt. Gov. 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, clearing the way for Nick Begich to beat Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. Also, Dunleavy didn’t get a job in the Trump administration, so Dahlstrom never got her rumored step-up.
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.
