Alaska’s governor race just got a lot louder, a lot tighter, and a lot more familiar to anyone who follows the state’s wild political scene. A crowded nonpartisan primary sent four governor-lieutenant governor tickets into the next round, with ranked-choice voting set to decide who wins in November.
Former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Zac Johnson finished first, while former Democratic state Sen. Tom Begich and Julia Hnilicks landed second. That puts both teams in the general election, where they will face two more ticket pairings that survived the primary squeeze.
The field was packed from the start, with 34 candidates chasing the two top offices. That kind of turnout makes Alaska politics feel less like a neat contest and more like a full-on brawl, especially when big family names and old political networks are in the mix.
Begich came into Tuesday’s vote as the person to beat, and for good reason. His family has been part of Alaska politics for generations, stretching back to the early statehood years and touching both state and federal power.
That legacy is hard to ignore. Tom Begich’s father, Rep. Nick Begich Sr., D-Alaska, served in the state and federal legislatures until he vanished on a flight between Anchorage and Juneau, a story that still hangs over Alaska political history like a ghost.
His brother, Mark, later became a longtime U.S. senator, and most of the family has stayed firmly in the Democratic lane. One exception stands out: incumbent Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, who gives the family name a very different political flavor in today’s races.
Republicans still had plenty of muscle in the field. Business owner Bernadette Wilson emerged as one of the strongest GOP contenders, bringing a deep Alaska background and a family history rooted in the state for generations.
Her running mate is Michael Shower, and that pairing gave the race another recognizable conservative lane. Former Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s deputy, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, had also been seen as a major player before exiting the contest in June.
Another Republican ticket on the ballot featured Michael Loren Gilbert and Timothy Hickel. Gilbert has talked about expanding Alaska’s energy strength and even floated the idea of a highway connection to the Lower 48, a vision that fits right into the state’s long-running independence streak.
Hickel’s name also carries weight in Alaska. His father, former Gov. Wally Hickel, served two nonconsecutive terms and later worked as President Richard Nixon’s interior secretary, leaving behind a political footprint that still shows up in state geography and public memory.
Former Anchorage Mayor David Bronson also remained in the mix as a top Republican, with Josh Church as his running mate. Former state Sen. Click Bishop, R-North Star, and Greta Schuerch were also part of the contest, adding even more layers to an already crowded Republican side.
Ranked-choice voting is the real twist in the November race. Instead of a simple winner-take-all setup, voters rank candidates by preference, and the count shifts through round after round as lower finishers get knocked out and their support moves elsewhere.
That system keeps Alaska politics unpredictable, and it is exactly why the November contest will feel nothing like a standard primary aftermath. Even in a state often labeled red, the open governor’s race gives Democrats a real opening, especially with Dunleavy term-limited and the field still wide enough for alliances, second choices, and surprise surges to matter.
