A well-known political figure and a competitive figure skater. A policy advisor and a business owner. A talk-show host and a mother of three. Bernadette Wilson is all those things … and now she is a candidate for governor.
Over the weekend, Bernadette quietly filed a letter of intent to run for governor in 2026, joining two other Republicans who have already announced — Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and former state Sen. Click Bishop.
On the steps of the Alaska Capitol building in Juneau, Bernadette made it clear that she’s in it to win it: “America’s Strength Starts with Alaska!” Watch the live announcement here.
She then made a quick tour of a few offices in the Capitol before heading back to the airport to fly home and begin campaigning.
Bernadette Wilson was recently the executive director of the Alaska Policy Forum, and before that was state director for Americans for Prosperity Alaska. She started her political activism in 2010, working to get the “parental notification” ballot initiative passed, and she worked on several campaigns, including Joe Miller for Senate, winning the primary against Lisa Murkowski; Mead Treadwell for Governor; and Nick Begich for Congress. Currently, she is one of the sponsors of the RepealNow ballot initiative to repeal ranked-choice voting. The initiative aims to gather signatures to revisit the issue after a narrow defeat in 2024.
She is the great-niece of the late Gov. Walter J. Hickel and Emalee Hickel, which takes her roots in Alaska to before Statehood. Many members of her family have been in the construction and trucking businesses. But the roots go deeper: Bernadette is a member of the Naknek Native Village tribe.
The longtime political activist and founder of Denali Disposal was identified last month as the favorite candidate among conservative voters for the Alaska gubernatorial race, according to reader surveys conducted by Must Read Alaska. Polls indicated strong support for Wilson over other potential candidates.
Wilson’s campaign website went live today at this link. Her X account went live here.
You can watch the announcement on Must Read Alaska’s Facebook page.
She’s got my vote!
Now we have someone worth voting for.
Our state needs fresh blood to prosper, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and former state Sen. Click Bishop had their chance and in my opinion they failed. Ms. Wilson is a fighter and with the corrupt union legislature we need a fighter.
Good.
She has my vote
Top choice. Excellent candidate.
Cuter than a Playboy model. Tougher than any legislator currently in office. Feisty. It’s who we need…….just like Donald Trump.
Hot! Waaaaaay hotter than Sarah Palin. Waaaaaay hotter than any female Democrat……especially in Alaska. 😅
Let’s go!
Love it!!