Yogi Berra once said during a drill at his baseball team’s spring training camp, “pair ‘em up in threes!” This could be the mantra needed to win in Alaska’s current Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) quagmire.
On September 18, the day that the first round of ballots went out for military and overseas voters, Republican candidate Bernadette Wilson in a press release and recorded statement called for candidates AG Treg Taylor and Mayor Dave Bronson to suspend their campaigns and get behind her campaign for governor.
This announcement came the day after a poll by the AARP was released showing that there is a statistical possibility of Democrat candidate Jonathon Kreiss-Tomkins winning the governor’s race. I will give Wilson credit for being bold and doing as she has done many times in this campaign of being first to make a move on something of consequence. However, it would be wise to reconsider the strategy.
While Wilson interprets the poll as presenting her as the only viable conservative candidate, the poll indicates a significant percent of undecided voters that could swing the election in any of the three Republican candidates’ favor. Wilson knows that the main issues are the same among every voting constituency but by trying to take players off the field she is in fact limiting her own chances to win. The primary is done. The ballot is set with four names, three of which are on the same team. It is time to start thinking as a team and showing leadership that knows how to win the game being played.
There is a clear path to victory for Wilson using the ranking method. By the same statistical method, paths to victory also exist for AG Taylor and Mayor Bronson. By encouraging her supporters to rank her first and Taylor and Bronson in whatever order thereafter, she keeps her voters’ ballots in play to the very end. Taylor and Bronson also need to tell their voters to rank Wilson to keep their ballots in play. Wilson needs to win in the final round because she will not win in the first round. She has not convinced enough people that she is the standard bearer for the Republican party or the independent voter bloc (which makes up approximately 2/3rds of Alaska’s voters). If voters put Bronson or Taylor ahead of her in the general election— which is statistically possible using data from the AARP poll— Wilson needs to be willing to keep her voters’ ballots in play by encouraging them to rank Bronson and Taylor, so conservatives can win. Undecided and independent voters are the key to this race and need to be brought on the field with a position to play, to win.
Wilson is risking alienating younger voters who are undecided at a higher rate than older voters, according to the AARP poll. The number of undecided under age 50 outnumber the undecided voters over age 50 by nearly 2:1. Even with a small sample size, current events would tell you to pay very close attention to this ratio and work hard to win them.
A conservative Republican can win with the ranking strategy because you are not trying to convince your own team. It is the independent undecided voters that need to see this coalition unite around common sense. Most families are seeing their savings disappear with rising fuel and grocery prices, their PFD stolen, their jobs being outsourced, their schools overrun with cultural activists, and their food and water poisoned. Wilson along with AG Taylor and Mayor Bronson have all championed policies to address these issues head on. Combine the platform. Unite the message. Aggressively campaign in the demographic areas where you need to make up ground. You have a three times better chance of covering more ground than the one Democrat candidate has. Use this to your advantage.
Statistics and polling being what they are can only give a snapshot of the best information we can ascertain given participation and available data. Going back to Yogi Berra, “baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical.” While the polls show JKT winning, the statistics also show a real chance for conservatives. However, Wilson’s message painting Taylor and Bronson as “spoilers” could discourage independents from even showing up to vote. Whether a voter favors Wilson, Taylor, or Bronson— we need every conservative vote to win. Ranking all three makes sure every conservative vote remains in play. We have to get in the game, and Wilson needs everyone to be on the field rather than trying to win the game for herself. Ranking the Republicans is playing all nine innings with the Republicans having home field advantage.
What Wilson’s voters need to know is this: if you bullet vote for Bernadette Wilson and Mike Shower, your ballot could be exhausted. An exhausted ballot not only means your vote does not impact the final tally, but that you are no longer counted as a voter, rendering you a citizen without a voice. Same goes for Bronson’s and Taylor’s voters.
To Wilson: I am not convinced you are the right person to be our next Governor, but I will rank you on my ballot. I will help your supporters by encouraging them to rank you first followed by their ranking of AG Taylor and Mayor Bronson. My message is the same to the other Republican candidates. Convince me that you can think strategically while acting boldly to build the coalition we need to win in November.
Pair ‘em up in threes and rank the Republicans.
Must Read Alaska unequivocally supports the election of a conservative to the Office of Governor but does not endorse a particular gubernatorial candidate. MRAK encourages voters to rank all three Republicans in their preferred order.
More Conservatives Speak on the Winning Strategy
Greg Sarber, conservative writer and former board member of Alaska Gold Communications, Inc.: Opinion: Conservative Alaskans need to vote strategically for Governor
Jim Minnery, President of Alaska Family Council: Opinion: Alaska Family Council speaks on governor’s race, invites Christians to prayer gathering
Rep. Kevin McCabe (R-Big Lake): Opinion: Use their own weapon to beat them
Shelley Hughes, former 2026 candidate for Governor and Senate Majority Leader: Hughes endorses Treg Taylor for Governor (plus rank the other two Republicans)
Blake Gettys, former 2026 candidate for Lt. Governor: Hughes endorses Treg Taylor for Governor (plus rank the other two Republicans)
Dr. George B. Hightower, former 2026 candidate for Lt. Governor (ran with Edna DeVries): Opinion: The governor’s race is a fight for freedom; here’s how to win
Jon Faulkner, President of Alaska Gold Communications, Inc.: Opinion: An Obi-Wan Kenobi moment for the Taylor/English campaign
Todd Lindley, Vice President of Alaska Gold Communication, Inc.: Opinion: We can win with the right mindset— policy over person
