2026 Alaska governor race heats up in Mat-Su

As Alaskans face critical decisions regarding resource development and fiscal stability, a significant, high-stakes gubernatorial forum took place on March 30.

With over a dozen candidates already in the running, the Alaska Veteran Community Partnership (AVCP) hosted a fireside forum that offered a pivotal glimpse into the crowded field of contenders vying to replace term-limited Governor Mike Dunleavy. Bringing together seven of the candidates at the Glenn Massey Theater provided a direct look at how hopefuls intend to tackle top-tier issues, including education, resource development, and veteran support.

The bipartisan forum featured seven of the 18 gubernatorial candidates, including Republicans Bernadette Wilson, Adam Crum, Dave Bronson, Treg Taylor, Matt Heilala, Shelley Hughes, and Tom Governor’s office in November.

The non-traditional debate forum was the vision of veterans who embrace the values of service and community, but a fireside forum designed to give each candidate a fair and equal opportunity to speak directly to the Alaskans who turned out in person or streamed the event on Facebook.

Republican candidate Matt Heilala, a podiatrist with deep roots in Alaska going back 92 years, relayed that his father chose the military as the best path for his parents to begin their life together.

Bernadette Wilson, who has selected Mike Shower, a retired military veteran as her running mate, thanked the veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice, then told the audience that her two brothers served in the Marine Corps, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, and she had considered joining herself but was too short. “How do tell a veteran ‘thank you’ when it seems like such a small phrase when you contemplate the sacrifices that are being made.”

The event kicked with each of the candidates taking to the stage and being given an opportunity to introduce themselves and lay out their vision and priorities before moving on to a Q-and-A session, with questions submitted by veterans.

When asked about balancing education funding while supporting charter and homeschools, the teacher shortage and challenges of retaining qualified educators in Alaska, all while improving student outcomes in schools, candidate Dave Bronson said that what’s going on in schools is an “absolute tragedy,” pointing to a “woke” agenda being taught in schools, a claim made by many of the other candidates. “It’s not the teachers’ fault…the problem is the NEA,” Bronson said, saying that the National Education Association is not interested in education, but instead indoctrination.

The sole Democrat on the stage, Tom Begich, said he worked across the aisle in the legislature and with current governor Mike Dunleavy to co-sponsor the Alaska Reads Act, which ensures that all students can read at grade level by the end of third grade, implementing interventions and allowing local school districts to maintain control over the program. About retaining teachers, Begich said he would like to see a pension plan for teachers put in place, or at the very least grant them the right to go into social security.

When asked what action they would take to reduce wait times, expand access to mental health, and reduce the suicide rates in Alaska, Bronson, the former mayor of Anchorage said that for some, they need to get to a “decision point,” a point so low that they are forced to go to jail or treatment, rather than trying to treat them in the parks or streets.

Former Alaska State Senator Shelley Hughes said that more behavioral health treatment providers are needed, and suggested establishing “care campuses.” “It’s not kind and compassionate to let someone be in a bad condition, so let’s have care campuses where they have a safe and comfortable and nice place with nice grounds.” She also said that awareness needs to be created, letting people know there is help out there.

Adam Crum, who served as Public Health Commissioner under Governor Dunleavy, said during that time his department implemented the 1115 waiver for Medicaid, expanding the continuum of care for both mental health and substance use disorders. He also said that treating at the lowest level of care, when things can be addressed early, and that the administration allowed for different licensures and therapists to provide those services, but that requires funding.

A major focus this campaign season is ensuring Alaskans have priority access to natural resources. Candidates addressed this by detailing policies designed to balance sustainability with local access.

Wilson said limited salmon did not occur overnight and is the result of failure to act going back decades. “They have failed us on this issue,” she said. She affirmed that her campaign does not accept contributions from trawlers and pledged that, consequently, no one with ties to the trawling industry will be appointed to the fisheries board.

A fascinating aspect to the forum was that the candidates were given the opportunity to ask a fellow candidate a question, as well as time for them to offer a rebuttal.

Heilala asked former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor how he would work to increase access to resources and services for rural veterans. Taylor said that of the estimated 70,000-80,000 veterans in Alaska, only half are currently enrolled in veteran services, something that needs to be addressed. He would also like to revitalize the Tribal Resource Officer program to help veterans in remote and rural areas access and utilize veteran programs.

In his rebuttal, Heilala said that continuing programs like the Alaska Native Tribal health Consortium developing partnerships with the VA Office of Tribal Health would give unfettered access to veterans.

“It’s the first time we’ve been able to do that,” said Crum after the forum concluded, who said that Alaska doesn’t do real debates but asking direct questions of each other and getting the opportunity to rebut while being respectful of each other is a great way of addressing issues and bringing them to the forefront.

At the end of the event, audience members also had a chance to rank the participating candidates based off of their performance and monitor results in real time as they changed.

Decided and undecided voters praised the format and the flow of the forum, but wished there had been more. “It helped me certainly narrow down my choices,” said one woman, “but so many people, it’s a long season ahead. Maybe we need more of these.”