2 Democrats and 2 Republicans advance to general election after Alaska all-party gubernatorial primary

Four of 17 candidates will advance to the November general election to replace Republican Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, who is term-limited, following the state’s crowded all-party primary.

As of Saturday, with 99% of the votes counted, the Associated Press called the election for the top two contenders: former Alaska state Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat who had about 38,960 votes, or 22.5%, and former Alaska state Senator Tom Begich, a Democrat who won about 34,150 votes, or 20.8% of the vote.

Businesswoman Bernadette Wilson, with 10%, and former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, with 8.1%, both Republicans, were also called as nominees after the election on August 18^th.

Former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, former Republican state Senator Click Bishop, former Alaska revenue commissioner Adam Crum, former Republican state Senator Shelley Hughes, former Alaska Governor Bill Walker, podiatrist Matt A. Heilala, former Republican Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, former Republican state Senator Lesil McGuire, businessman Michael Loren Gilbert, former teacher James W. Parkin, welder Destry J. Payne Sr. and commercial fisherman Hank Kroll were also in the running.

Both of the Democrat frontrunners prioritize lowering energy costs, supporting education, creating accessible healthcare and reducing housing costs.

For energy, Kreiss-Tomkins supports all energy sources, including natural gas, and plans to “support the development of an economically viable Alaskan natural gas pipeline.” Begich would create a state Department of Energy and expand loans and grants for efficiency upgrades.

Both promise to increase school funding. Kreiss-Tomkins supports Medicaid expansion, whereas Begich plans to expand DenaliCare and “help people caught between Medicaid and unaffordable private plans.” They also both plan to build more homes to address housing costs.

 

Wilson’s top issues, per her campaign website, are education and a Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). She argues Alaska’s education system is failing students with low rankings in reading and math because it uses a one-size-fits-all model and employs an expensive Base Student Allocation (BSA). She suggests innovative solutions such as educational savings accounts and learn-everywhere models. She touts the PFD as a way to make Alaska residents “shareholders” of the state’s natural resources and the wealth they generate without a welfare program.

Bronson also supports reforming Alaska’s Permanent Fund by limiting politicians from making withdrawals that put its future earnings at risk. For the education issue, he also proposes a “10/10 Plan,” meaning Alaska will rank in the top 10 states for 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math within 10 years. He would accomplish this by keeping class instruction centered on core academics (reading, writing, math, science and history, maintaining transparency with parents, maintaining clear performance expectations for school staff and improving teachers’ pay.