A 17th candidate has announced she’s running for governor.
Meda DeWitt, 45, is a traditional healer, drawing on her Tlingit heritage. She teaches at the University of Alaska.
She’s running as a nonpartisan.
“I care about our future,” she said. “I care about the way that we steward our lands and want to see a state that has a thriving ecosystem and healthy communities that can live in perpetuity.”
In 2021, DeWitt chaired a campaign to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The petition gathered more than 60,000 signatures but fell short of the number needed for a recall election.
Her campaign website lists a wide array of priorities, from cost of living to health care to the state economy.
DeWitt lives in Anchorage and has family roots in Wrangell and Yakutat, as well as relatives around the state.
The Aug. 18 primary will feature a long list of gubernatorial candidates, most running with the Republican label. In the primary, voters can choose just one. The top four candidates, of any party, will advance to the November ballot. General election voters will have the option of ranking up to four candidates.
