Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries filed a letter of intent to run for governor of Alaska.
“School of Government is on break until September. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT – I have filed Letter of Intent for Governor in the State Primary August 2026. I am the one candidate with proven leadership. Listening to people, caring for people and acting -Mat Su is setting standard for the state of Alaska to follow. Appreciate your prayers and thoughts. Blessings,” she wrote in a text message to her list of School of Government attendees. The school is a program that tackles political and social issues of interest to Mat-Su conservatives.
DeVries, born July 12, 1941, is the incumbent mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. She was elected in November 2021 with approximately 58% of the vote in a three-way race against Matthew Beck and Bert Cottle.
A resident of Palmer since 1969, DeVries previously served as mayor of Palmer for over five years, and was a member of the Alaska State Senate during the 14th State Legislature. She was also the first woman elected to the Palmer City Council, and the first woman to serve as Mat-Su Borough mayor.
DeVries, well respected in conservative circles, will turn 84 in July. If elected in November, 2026, she would be 85 when she took office and 89 at the end of her first term. She joins Republicans Click Bishop (former state senator from Fairbanks), Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, and business owner Bernadette Wilson.
Other Republicans said to be in the hunt include Sen. Shelley Hughes, Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum, and Attorney General Treg Taylor, but none of the three has yet filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The 2026 primary is scheduled for Aug. 18, 2026, which is over 400 days away. Others, including a Democrat, a Libertarian, and an Alaskan Independence Party candidate, are expected to file in coming weeks.
