Dozens of candidates officially kicked off their campaigns for governor, U.S. Congress and the state Legislature on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Division of Elections, Stephen Kirch, said by email that “nearly 70” filings came in on Monday alone, which was the last day to register a campaign ahead of the August primary. Elections officials were still sifting through them on Tuesday, Kirch said.
As recently as midday Friday, the Division of Elections listed 26 races with fewer than two candidates, including a handful with none at all.
But after the surge of late entries, just six state legislators are running unopposed. All six are either Democrats or coalition-aligned Republicans.
Alaska Democratic Party Executive Director Jenny-Marie Stryker said that’s the result of a longrunning effort by her group to make as many races as possible competitive, even in districts that President Donald Trump won by 30 or 40 percentage points.
“It's important to contest races where a Democrat is a longshot, because we have to demonstrate to people that inadequate leadership is not acceptable, that rolling over for Gov. Dunleavy is not acceptable,” Stryker said in an interview.
Some of the races set for August’s primary election are intra-party contests.
Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel, who’s attracted the ire of conservatives for working across the aisle in a bipartisan coalition, is facing three Republican challengers. The Democratic mayor of Kotzebue, Saima Chase, is challenging fellow Democratic Rep. Robyn Frier of Utqiagvik to represent the state’s northernmost House district.
In some other state legislative races, familiar faces are looking to make a comeback. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s former natural resources commissioner, Republican John Boyle, is challenging South Anchorage independent Rep. Ky Holland. In Wasilla, ultraconservative Republican former Rep. David Eastman is challenging Republican Rep. Jubilee Underwood, who beat him in 2024.
The most crowded fields are at the top of the ticket: 15 candidates are running for U.S. House, 16 for U.S. Senate and 17 for governor.
Brett Huber, a former Dunleavy advisor who most recently ran the Alaska office of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, said despite the crowded field of gubernatorial candidates, he’s not excited about any of them.
“I don’t think any of them are telling the truth,” he said. “Let's talk about the truth. State’s out of money. We had a war (that) saved us. We have a $1.5 billion structural deficit in our budget. Who are we going to be when we grow up?”
Huber said he’d like to see candidates spend more time talking about the most difficult issues the state faces, from education to public safety to the Permanent Fund dividend.
There’s still some time before the ballot for the Aug. 18 nonpartisan, pick-one primary ballot is finalized. Candidates can withdraw until June 27.
