Following Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom’s decision to not certify Treg Taylor for the 2026 general election ballot, Taylor’s running-mate Candi English is now running for governor with Taylor’s wife, Jodi Taylor, as her Lt. Governor. The Alaska Division of Elections marks the English/ Taylor ticket as pending as of September 1, 4:00 PM. Please check the Division of Elections for the most up-to-date information.
The three confirmed candidates are Republican Bernadette Wilson, who received 10% of the votes in the primary, Republican Dave Bronson (8.1%), and Democrat Jonathon Kreiss-Tomkins (22.5%). Democrat Tom Begich had originally placed in the top four with 20.8% of the primary votes, but chose to withdraw, consolidating the Democrat vote for JKT. When Begich dropped, Treg Taylor (7.3%) moved up to fourth.
Due to APOC concerns that seem to prioritize compliance with bureaucratic rules over the constitutional right to privacy, Taylor was denied certification. His running-mate, Candi English, now has the opportunity to run for governor alongside her new running-mate Jodi Taylor. If the English/ Taylor ticket is not certified, only three candidates will appear on the November ballot. The candidate who placed after Taylor in the primary is Click Bishop, but he will not be moved up because state law requires those moves to be made before 64 days prior to the election—a window that ended August 31.
Although some Republicans urged a consolidation strategy similar to the Democrat’s strategy and asked Bronson and all subsequent Republican candidates to withdraw from the race, Bronson chose to remain on the ballot. Other Republicans argue that the best strategy for electing a conservative in a ranked-choice voting system is to rank all the Republican candidates. Treg Taylor and Candi English offered a unique third solution.
In a press release from the Treg for Alaska campaign, both Taylor and English urged Wilson and Bronson to team up as one ticket. Both Taylor and English said they would withdraw and endorse the Wilson-Bronson ticket if Wilson and Bronson decide to run together.
“Our campaign was overwhelmingly supported by Alaskans, with 94% of our contributions coming from inside the state,” said English. “We believe Alaska’s governor should answer to Alaskans— not California mega-donors or special interests.” 80% of JKT’s campaign donations are from outside Alaska with a significant portion coming from California AI/ data center mega-donors.
Much of the Republican debate on political strategy has focused on placing Alaskans before personal ego. If Wilson and Bronson ran together and English withdrew from the race, all three candidates would be making a sacrifice. It could make a powerful statement, demonstrating that Republicans value Alaska above their personal ambitions. And voters would see only two tickets on the ballot—Wilson-Bronson and Kreiss-Tomkins/ Johnson— rendering ranked-choice voting irrelevant.
As of now, it is most likely voters will see Wilson/ Shower, Bronson/ Church, and Kreiss-Tomkins/ Johnson on the November ballot. The English/ Taylor ticket is pending and may also appear on the ballot. Or the Republican candidates could strategize together and run only one ticket— Wilson/ Bronson— against the one Democrat ticket. More coverage to follow.
