Alaskan candidates running for governor in 2026 are presented below in alphabetical order. Click on a candidate’s name to see their answer to the highlighted question below. A handful of candidates chose not to participate and engage the well over one-hundred thousand Alaskans who regularly read the Alaska Watchman.
President Trump established a Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) to reduce the size of the federal government. Do you have any plans to establish a similar program for Alaska? If so, what would it entail?
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Candidate answers begin below…
TOM BEGICH [D]
The candidate chose not to answer.
CLICK BISHOP [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
DAVE BRONSON [R]
Yes. A Bronson–Church administration would implement a government efficiency initiative built around zero-based budgeting and regulatory reform. Instead of automatically adding to last year’s spending, every department would justify its budget from the ground up. Our campaign has already outlined this approach on bronsonchurch.com. We have begun conversations with the business program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks about involving business students in efficiency and accountability audits. This would help train the next generation of Alaska leaders while identifying waste and duplication in government programs. We would also evaluate hiring outside professional auditors to assist in a full review during our first year in office. The goal is simple. Government should deliver better results while spending less of the people’s money.
MATT CLAMAN [D]
The candidate chose not to answer.
ADAM CRUM [R]
Yes, and I am better positioned to do it than anyone else in this race.
I ran the Department of Health and the Department of Revenue. I know how state government works at the operational level, not just politically.
I will create a lean, no‐nonsense Office of Results and Efficiency (ORE) that answers directly to me and ultimately to the people – not the bureaucracy. Every agency, every program, every dollar justifies its existence by the value it delivers to Alaskans. We will use technology to find waste, eliminate underperforming programs, and contract out functions where the private sector does it better and cheaper.
I’ll invite frontline workers and regular citizens to blow the whistle on nonsense spending and red tape.
The goal is a government that is fast, lean, and focused on results. Alaskans are paying for outcomes. It is time the executive branch delivered them.
NANCY DAHLSTROM [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
EDNA DEVRIES [R]
Yes. My team and I have already selected members of our state to serve on such a committee. We must get our fiscal house in order – remove fraud and corruption – excess budgeting – reign in out-of-state travel. This is something I, as governor have authority to do and don’t have to wait for 11 senators and 21 House members to agree to. We are practicing it on the local level with the Mat Su Borough budget and prior to that City of Palmer, while I was mayor. Implement Zero‑Based Budgeting – see my article in the People’s paper – written this last week. We have been doing this and are doing this year’s budget at the Mat-Su Borough – Consolidate duplicative functions.
MEDA DEWITT [NON/IND]
Alaska does not need a DOGE. We need competent management. The federal DOGE has been chaotic and expensive, cutting programs before understanding what they do, eliminating jobs that communities depend on. Alaska is already feeling the damage through threatened Medicaid funding, disrupted federal grants, and uncertainty for tribal health programs.
What I would do is straightforward: a zero-based budget review of every state department in year one, conducted by department staff and an independent review panel, not by political appointees with an ideology to impose. I would prioritize eliminating duplicative administrative overhead, modernizing state IT systems that waste staff time, and streamlining permitting so responsible development is not held up by bureaucratic delay. Efficiency means the state works better for Alaskans, not that we gut the services rural communities cannot survive without.
JESSICA FAIRCLOTH [NON/IND]
Making government more efficient should be a priority, but I would not create a separate program like that in Alaska. Instead, I would implement zero-based budgeting.
Zero-based budgeting means every department must build its budget from the ground up each year and account for every dollar it spends, rather than simply carrying last year’s spending forward. Every program must justify its funding and demonstrate that it is delivering real results for Alaskans.
Programs that are working should continue. Programs that are not delivering results should be reformed or eliminated. Government should have to justify its spending the same way Alaskan families and businesses do. It’s a practical way to increase accountability and ensure taxpayer dollars are being used where they actually deliver results.
MATT HEILALA [R]
Yes, 100%. As a Trump supporter (and someone who’s even golfed with him), I’ve watched the federal DOGE team expose waste and deliver results. Alaska needs the same no-nonsense approach. I will establish a Severe Transparency Effort on day one. It will entail:
— A lean, independent team of private-sector experts (not more bureaucrats) to audit every state agency.
— Elimination of duplicative programs, outdated regulations, and wasteful spending.
— Aggressive use of AI and technology (Palantir’s Foundry) to modernize services and slash overhead.
The goal is simple: run state government like a business, efficient and accountable so we can deliver better services at lower cost without raising taxes. This is how we get our fiscal house in order and free up resources for real priorities like Infrastructure.
SHELLEY HUGHES [R]
The Hughes administration would immediately activate an independent Sunset Audit Commission to institute efficiencies including cost-saving modernization, to eliminate fraud (estimated in the $1 billion range), to ensure missions are met, and to clarify mandatory vs discretionary spending in every agency. This will occur through legislation that must pass or the agency “sunsets” – ensuring future administrations can’t easily undo the work.
Disciplined agencies mean leaner, more responsive government while freeing resources for PFDs, infrastructure, and fiscal stability. This process won’t exclude the unsustainable health budget or education spending that’s not netting student proficiency.
Clear fiscal rules are essential, including an updated constitutional spending cap. I will use the bully pulpit to communicate the importance of this common-sense approach. The resulting and overwhelming support and the pressure Alaskans would apply on Juneau will get us where we need to be. After all, we’re a government of, for, and by the people!
JONATHAN KREISS-TOMKINS [D]
The candidate chose not to answer.
HENRY F. “HANK” KROLL [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
JAMES PARKIN [R]
No! DOG-E is a top-down, short-term band-aid that fails to change long-term behavior. Once outsiders leave, it’s back to business as usual, leaving only animosity and extra expenses behind. Our plan focuses on permanent, internal reform that incentivizes lasting change. By allowing departments to keep, save, and invest the funds they recover, we transform employees into the ultimate fraud/waste-fighters. When departments are no longer forced to “use or lose” their budgets, the incentive to be non-vigilant of waste/fraud vanishes. We will mandate Feedback Access Reports (FARs) for deep operational insight and One-page Accountability Reports (OARs) to address issues publicly. These reports will be sent directly to Alaskans via text message, ensuring transparency that cannot be ignored. This system costs nothing extra and makes efficiency a permanent part of the culture. We don’t need a temporary department; we need a system where fraud and waste have nowhere to hide.
TREG TAYLOR [R]
I think the goal is the right one. State government should be accountable and work for the people. As governor, I’ll focus on core government functions, modernizing state agencies to eliminate waste and create efficiencies, and fixing permitting and regulatory systems so we grow the economy instead of growing government. Like DOGE, we should leverage technology to quickly identify possible areas of fraud and inefficiencies and work responsibly to address those issues.
The goal is simple. A leaner, more accountable government that delivers results and creates more opportunity for Alaska’s future.
As Attorney General, the Department of Law consistently returned money to Alaska by rooting out fraud, especially in Medicaid, and holding bad actors accountable, like big pharma with the opioid epidemic. That showed me you can save real dollars when you focus on accountability and make sure taxpayer money is used the right way.
BRUCE WALDEN [R]
Alaska has been called the most corrupt state in the union. Now, one must consider the sources, but as I always say, “Tammany Hall had nothing on Alaska.”
I will have Alaska DOGEd the second my hand comes off of God’s Holy Word. But, I will not use our own people. I’ll go to Elon and ask his people to do it. I don’t want a single Alaskan on that, as it requires outside eyes. I don’t want there to be the possibility of someone looking the other way because their brother-in-law happens to be president of the left-handed yellow-line-painter’s union.
We will root out corruption and do so energetically. And it’s in our own party. I’ve been slow to speak of this, but when one of the people, high in the Republican Party, tells young folks, “You do not talk to Bruce Walden,” you begin to see the problems …
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This answer was cut off after reaching the 150-word response limit.)
BERNADETTE WILSON [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
2 Comments
What an excellent question to put forth for gubernatorial candidates!!!
I agree.
I’m also enjoying this series. I appreciate the one-question/all candidates format. I also appreciate the fine-tuned questions!