By George B. Hightower, M.D., USNR (retired), former 2026 candidate for Lt. Governor
In July, I penned an op-ed advocating the ideals our forefathers lived by in the fight for our nation’s freedoms. In Alaska, those freedoms are challenged today in a way I never imagined.
Our recent primary election, though convoluted, has eliminated all but four gubernatorial candidates. One Democrat and three Republicans remain. Alaska has not elected a Democratic governor in 25 years. That trend, in the opinion of many, is threatened like never before.
A review of Alaska’s election history reveals: In every election, the leading primary vote-getter generally prevails in the general election. More specifically, in the election for Alaska’s governor— except in the two cases outlined below— the winner of the primary election has gone on to serve as Governor!
The two exceptions are notable:
- In 1990, Wally Hickel did not even run in the primary. As a former governor, he was inserted after John Lindauer— who won the Alaskan Independence Party primary— and his running mate withdrew. Wally Hickel then went on to win the general election.
- In 2014, Bill Walker entered the Republican primary but withdrew and instead qualified for the general election as an independent. He never won the primary. After the primary, he formed a unity ticket with Byron Mallott, who had won the Democratic primary. The Walker/Mallott ticket then went on to win the general election.
In both the above examples, the eventual governor worked alongside the primary winner to optimize the team’s performance in the general election. But the above primary history only tells part of the story.
Prior to 2022, there was never more than one candidate from a major party on the November ballot.
2022 marked the first ranked-choice gubernatorial primary. Two Republicans, a Democrat and an Independent prevailed. The incumbent, Governor Dunleavy (REP), was challenged by Charlie Pierce (REP) and his running mate Edie Grunwald. Sexual harassment charges were brought against Charlie Pierce. Although he did not suspend his campaign, his running mate withdrew and endorsed Governor Dunleavy, effectively isolating Pierce. This cleared the way for Mike Dunleavy to win the election in the first round.
Again, after the primary, events occurred which consolidated the GOP in support of the top primary vote-getter.
Also, in 2022 we saw how ranked-choice voting works when party disunity prevails. After Rep. Don Young passed away, Alaska held a special House election. Sarah Palin (REP), Nick Begich (REP) and Mary Peltola (DEM) squared off against one another. The contest between Palin and Begich was very heated, turning off many voters.
In the first round of the general election, Palin/Begich received 60% of the vote. In the second round, Nick Begich came in last and was eliminated. Because of bad blood between the conservatives, 29% of Nick’s second-choice votes went to Peltola and not Palin. Those second-choice votes were enough to declare Peltola the winner.
Again, the winning team had only one strong candidate in the general election.
Fast forward to today. The recent primary election ended with JKT (Dem.) and Bernadette (Rep.) as the top performers for their respective parties. The Democrats have rallied the troops and removed all obstacles in support of their top vote-getter. Tom Begich, the second-place Democrat, though he trailed JKT by less than 1.8%, has withdrawn, “taking one for the team.”
It may appear the Democrats have surged ahead strategically. This is true only if Republicans continue to campaign as if ranked-choice voting does not exist. JKT received only 22.5% of the primary vote. That is less than the top Democrat in the 2022 primary election.
Looked at it from another perspective, in the 2026 primary election, 55+% of the Democrat-leaning electorate voted for someone other than JKT. Approximately 65% of the Alaskan electorate is not affiliated with either of the two major political parties.
To assume that all of Tom Begich and Click Bishop’s followers will move to a far-left candidate who received 80% of his funding from out-of-state political machines is not realistic. In addition, there are no Democratic second choice candidates. The Democrats appear to be betting the farm on a round one knockout. And most fights do not go as planned.
This is in contrast to the 2022 Gubernatorial race when Mike Dunleavy (REP,) received 92% of his campaign funding from Alaska and received over 40% of the in a crowded field with 4 other Republicans.
Currently, some Republican candidates continue in team destructive self-exaltation. Ranked choice voting, if nothing else, is a team sport. The divided team is the losing team. When leaders “drop the ball,” the team of the conservative electorate must rally around the team captain.
The conservatives of Alaska must realize that division is exactly what ranked choice voting was designed to exploit.
In the lead up to the American Revolution the American colonies were a divided group of individually governed settlements. In order to stand up to the British, our forefathers recognized that absent unity, the colonist were signing their own death warrant. Benjamin Franklin is credited with coining the cry for Patriot unity with the widely recognized cartoon slogan: “Unite or Die.”
Never more than today is this slogan apropos.
I don’t support ranked choice voting, and I pray it is repealed. But while this algorithm remains law, Alaska conservatives must awake to unite against a process designed to defeat selfish ambition. We must mirror the Democrats and coalesce around our top vote getter. In this case it is Bernadette Wilson.
At this stage, it is unlikely the primary candidates who finished below Bernadette will suspend their campaigns and endorse the team captain. But that is my point exactly. You the voter are the team, not a handful of legacy politicians.
So, the strategy becomes:
- Rank the primary leader #1, Bernadette Wilson.
- Do not just rank Bernadette #1 alone. Rank #2 and #3 candidates. Otherwise, you create exhausted ballots, which only support JKT.
- Rank Bronson or Treg #2 and #3. Choose which order works for you.
- Understand that because only 11% of the Alaskan electorate are registered Democrats, this general election will likely be decided in rounds 2-4. So, your #2-#4 choices really matter!!
- Based on the way ranked-choice voting works and the current ballot alignment, if you rank JKT at any position, even #4, eventually, your vote may count toward him as governor.
So, this strategy becomes much more than “rank the red.” Ranked-choice voting forces the electorate to rank for policy. Unless you want far-left progressive, big government ideals in the Governor’s mansion, put Bernadette Wilson #1, then rank Bronson and Taylor #2 and #3 in your preferred order, and do not rank JKT.
George B. Hightower, M.D., is a retired Lieutenant Commander for the U.S. Navy Reserve and former 2026 candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
