Correction: Oops! There was another Republican — Henry “Hank” Kroll of Soldotna — who got into the race ahead of Bronson. That makes Bronson the 12th Republican and the 13th candidate overall. He’ll be included in the next power ranking.
At this point, who isn’t running for governor?
Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson today became the 12th Republican in the race for governor, bringing to the race a uniquely disastrous tenure marked by the inept handling of snowplowing, forcing homeless people to stay in a muddy, bear-filled campground after closing the city’s shelter and sweeping accusations of ethical and moral breaches while in office. Along with the one Democrat in the race, the field now stands at 13.
Bronson capitalized on right-wing panic over COVID-19 precautions in the city, riding a wave of anger and conspiracy theories to office in 2021. While in office, he continued to stoke conservative grievances over the public health precautions, lambasting the local hospital system for its vaccine mandate and whipping up several days of petulant and hate-filled testimony targeted against a proposed masking mandate. That included condoning the wearing of yellow Stars of David to protest the measure, an antisemitic tactic that he would later have to apologize for.
And his handling of city services outside of COVID-19 wasn’t any better.
His administration, like many moderate Republican administrations, was filled with barely qualified political allies who ushered in three years of degrading services, low morale and a cavalcade of controversies that ranged from workplace sexism to shady no-bid contracts and millions of dollars in unauthorized spending. In a particularly damaging moment, his health director resigned amid an Alaska Public Media report that found he misrepresented or outright fabricated large swaths of his resume.
But likely the most lasting memory from Bronson’s time in office was the city’s disastrous handling of snow clearing in the wake of admittedly heavy snowstorms. With understaffed crews and insufficient working equipment, the city ground to a halt due to dangerous and sometimes impassable roads. He did, however, funnel money to private plow companies, including those who backed his election.
Bronson was handily defeated by moderate centrist Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance in 2024. He later took a job with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration as the head of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, which, thanks to a recent organization, was mostly a job about collecting a check with little actual say over the airport’s operations, ultimately leaving the position a little more than seven months into the gig.
State of the race
Bronson will have a tough time standing out in a field that has just about every flavor of right-wing conservatives you could hope for, including transphobes, corporate toadies, wealthy elites who think they’re above the law and right-wing influencers.
The Republican field includes three members of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration — Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, roaming commissioner Adam Crum and Attorney General Treg Taylor — suggesting deep-rooted disagreements within the Republican party about the preferred candidate. There’s also former radio personality Bernadette Wilson, anti-trans state Sen. Shelley Hughes, anti-trans Alaska State Medical Board member Matt Hailala and 84-year-old Mat-Su Mayor Edna Devries.
On the non-right-wing side of the race, there are Anchorage Democratic state Sen. Tom Begich, the race’s lone Democrat, and moderate, labor-friendly former Fairbanks Republican state Sen. Click Bishop. There are also rumors that Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Pelotla and moderate Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski may also be considering bids for the seat.
So, without further ado, let’s see how everyone who’s officially in the race stacks up according to our Votable Index Based Entirely on Science (VIBES) analysis of their ability to win in 2026. Find our previous ranking here.
1. Click Bishop
Pros: Moderate, labor-friendly Republican that Democrats could live with.
Cons: Reviled by the Alaska Republican Party for being a moderate, labor-friendly Republican that Democrats can live with. Also, when’s he gonna start campaigning?
2. Tom Begich
Pros: A Begich and the only Democrat in the race.
Cons: A Begich and the only Democrat in the race.
3. Bernadette Wilson and Mike Shower
Pros: An ultra-MAGA mudslinger who understands that grievance and alternate facts go a long way in today’s modern political world.
Cons: Sen. Mike Shower — who’s one of the most chronically absent from the Capitol — is not bringing a whole lot to the ticket.
4. Treggarick “Treg” Taylor
Pros: Did not resign for being a sex pest, as his two predecessors did.
Cons: An ultra-wealthy right-wing weirdo who’s more than happy to bend the rules of the law to fit his political needs. He also has no problem with using public school funding to pay for his children’s private and religious education, despite the Alaska Constitution prohibiting the use of public school money for such purposes.
5. Shelley Hughes
Pros: Has a finger on the pulse of whatever’s the latest Republican panic factory, whether it be trans kids in sports or trans kids in general.
Cons: Considers right-wing Anchorage Republicans too moderate for her.
6. Edna DeVries
Pros: Has a lot of experience.
Cons: She’ll be 85 by the time she’s sworn in, a point that Republican media has seemed to fixate on following her filing, suggesting she doesn’t have the right blessings.
7. Adam Crum
Pros: The oil industry has a lot of money, and Crum once appeared to be the chosen one.
Cons: May or may not have done something untoward to benefit the oil industry. Also, doesn’t seem to have the party’s blessing anymore.
8. Matt Heilala
Pros: He has a big RV plastered with his campaign logo, and he is also one of the leading forces of anti-trans panic in Alaska.
Cons: So far, a one-note candidate who’s giving Bear Doctor vibes.
9. 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 about as out of line with the party powers as Bishop is, while also lacking the folksy appeal.
10. Roger “Bruce” Walden
Pros: The only candidate to have technically run for governor before.
Cons: He finished seventh in the 2022 primary, and fewer than 1,000 voters wrote in any write-in candidate.
11. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (no longer last)
Pros: Currently has an office that shares a floor with the governor.
Cons: Her exit from the race for U.S. House after being bullied by pretty much every right-wing power broker in the country isn’t a great look. Plus, she’s the least rabidly right-wing member of the Dunleavy administration to file to run for office.
12. Dave Bronson
Pros: After quitting his job at the airport, he has the free time for new hobbies.
Cons: A deeply partisan nincompoop who demonstrated a frankly impressive ability to not get anything substantial done during the three years he was in office.
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.
