Monday is the last day to officially begin a campaign for state or federal office in Alaska this election cycle after a few shakeups late last week. The Division of Elections is taking candidates’ registration paperwork until 5 p.m.
Sitting Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom drops bid for governor
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican who way back in May 2025 became the second candidate to kick off their gubernatorial campaign, said Monday she was calling it quits.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to step away from what has become a very crowded field of candidates in the race to be Alaska’s next governor,” she said in a statement. The statement was first reported by the political website Alaska Landmine.
Dahlstrom lagged in fundraising, bringing in just $17,000 by the first reporting deadline in February, as other candidates reported six-figure totals. She did not announce a running mate before ending her campaign.
Dahlstrom’s statement said she remained “committed to helping strong Republican leaders get elected across the state.” Dunleavy picked her to replace his first lieutenant governor, Kevin Meyer, when he ran for reelection in 2022. With Dunleavy term-limited, Dahlstrom’s time as lieutenant governor ends in December.
Dahlstrom did not immediately respond to an emailed interview request.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins picks independent Anchorage assemblyman as running mate
Former Sitka Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins selected Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson as his running mate, Kreiss-Tomkins’ campaign announced Monday.
Anchorage voters elected Johnson in 2023 to an Assembly seat representing South Anchorage and the Anchorage Hillside and won reelection earlier this year. He’s a former U.S. Marine and Alaska State Trooper.
“He shares, I think, a very Alaskan sort of problem-solving, pragmatic approach to governance,” Kreiss-Tomkins said in a phone interview. “I think that’s the kind of elected leader the state really needs.”
Though he’s running on a Democratic candidate’s ticket, Johnson said he considers himself an independent.
“I’ve never allied myself with a political party, and I’ve been happy to support people across the political spectrum,” Johnson said. “I’m honored to have support from a broad range of people, R’s and D’s and I’s.”
Kreiss-Tomkins has not filed a formal campaign finance report — he announced his campaign after the deadline for February’s first report — but he said his campaign has raised more than $1.25 million from more than 2,300 individual donors.
Former AG Treg Taylor selects oilfield business owner for lieutenant governor
Republican gubernatorial candidate Treg Taylor, a former Alaska attorney general, selected Candi English as his running mate. Taylor announced the pick in a news release Monday afternoon.
“Candice English represents the grit of the Last Frontier,” Taylor said in a prepared statement. “She overcame polio, worked the North Slope, and built a company for the toughest jobs in the world.”
Taylor did not immediately return interview requests.
State records show English is the majority owner of Northern Solutions LLC, an oilfield service company with machine shops in Anchorage and Deadhorse. She founded the company in 2007 after a 20-year career with ARCO Alaska on the North Slope, according to Taylor’s statement.
A retirement switcheroo in Fairbanks
Fairbanks Sen. Robb Myers, a Republican in the Senate’s minority caucus, announced Monday he would not seek another term.
“I appreciate the deep trust the residents of Fairbanks and North Pole have placed in me to represent them for the last six years,” Myers said. “At this point in time, I need to take a step back from Juneau and focus on my wife and kids for the next season in my life.”
Myers, who won with 63% of the vote in 2022, endorsed Fairbanks Republican Rep. Frank Tomaszewski to fill his seat. Tomaszewski filed to run for Myers’ seat around the same time.
Tomaszewski quickly picked up a challenger for Senate District Q: Democrat William Hunt of North Pole. Hunt had previously registered to run for U.S. Senate but withdrew Monday afternoon to challenge Tomaszewski.
Tomaszewski’s wife, Harmony Tomaszewski, filed to run for her husband’s current House District 34 seat on Monday, according to the Division of Elections. She’s facing independent candidate Joy Beth Cottle, who challenged Frank Tomaszewski in 2024 and lost by roughly 13 percentage points, and Republican John Anderson, who joined the race Monday afternoon.
Walker and McGuire officially join gubernatorial race
Two candidates who last week filed letters of intent to run for governor – former Gov. Bill Walker and former state legislator Lesil McGuire – officially joined the race on Monday, according to the Division of Elections.
Both are former Republicans running as independents. McGuire has been a longtime Republican but, prior to filing to run, said she was concerned about the direction the GOP was headed.
Walker’s running mate is his former revenue commissioner, Randy Hoffbeck, and McGuire is running alongside legislative aide Elizabeth Rexford.
