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. Several candidates chose not to participate.
Alaska has long been stymied by what many view as overburdensome federal regulations when it comes to developing and managing Alaska lands and resources. What do you see as the major state’s rights issues facing Alaska today, and what are you prepared to do to defend Alaska’s sovereignty?
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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]
Alaska faces two major challenges related to land development. First, we are not fully utilizing what we already control. The state owns more than a quarter of Alaska’s land, yet only about 1% is privately held. That limits growth, opportunity, and economic development.
We need to modernize land sales and leasing, expand private ownership, and increase access for recreation, homesteading, and responsible resource development. We need to cut burdensome regulations and change the culture in government to help work for the citizens, not against them.
Second, federal overreach continues to restrict Alaska’s ability to manage its own future. More than half of Alaska’s land is controlled by the federal government, often with decisions made far from the people affected.
As governor, I will work closely with Alaska’s congressional delegation, push back through legal and administrative channels, and use every available tool to expand state authority and control.
MATT CLAMAN [D]
The candidate chose not to answer.
ADAM CRUM [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
NANCY DAHLSTROM [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
EDNA DEVRIES [R]
The major state’s rights issues facing Alaska are exactly what we witness today with the State Senate trying to hijack the AKLNG project, which is not Feds stifling development of our resources, but our elected officials.
We still have 5.2 million acres to receive from the feds under the Alaska Statehood Act. Now is the time for the governor to push forward to receive those lands with Trump in our corner.
Alaska’s economy, long balanced on a “three-legged stool” of petroleum, private industry and federal spending, leans more heavily than ever on Washington.
Following through with action by our Legislature – Enrolled SJR 19: Urging U.S. Congress to honor the terms of the Mineral Leasing Act and Alaska Statehood Act and provide the state with a 90% share of all bonuses, royalties, and rentals received by the federal government from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
MEDA DEWITT [NON/IND]
The candidate chose not to answer.
JESSICA FAIRCLOTH [NON/IND]
The candidate chose not to answer.
MATT HEILALA [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
SHELLEY HUGHES [R]
Democrat administrations in Washington have treated Alaska as a second‑class state, using executive orders and regulatory overreach to lock up lands, delay projects, and override state authority. Ignoring our Statehood Act, our constitutional rights, and the reality that Alaskans live closest to the land and manage it best is wholly unacceptable.
The major states’ rights issues include federal ownership of 62% of the state and control over land use, resource development, permitting, and wildlife management (Alaska is the only state where this is true). I’ll fight to restore some of the statehood federal land grab. I’ll defend Alaska’s sovereignty by aggressively enforcing the Statehood Act and Submerged Lands Act, coordinating litigation as needed, and demanding Alaska law and science be respected. I will work directly with Congress and the administration to reverse blanket executive actions, restore permitting certainty, and ensure Alaska is treated as an equal partner, not a federal park.
JONATHAN KREISS-TOMKINS [D]
The candidate chose not to answer.
HENRY F. “HANK” KROLL [R]
The Trump administration rolled back over 100 environmental rules aimed at boosting energy production and reducing burdens on industries. Major actions included narrowing the scope of water protections under the Clean Water Act. He has reduced the agency’s workforce and shifted focus away from climate change regulation. We need more land in private hands to grow food. Past administrations put us in danger of starving if the food shipments stop. Trade one dividend check for one acre of land to increase farming! For 25 years, this state allowed two oil tankers a day to dump 20-million gallons of oil-contaminated ship ballast water taken from foreign ports like Korea, Japan, and Long Beach, CA. The water contained nematodes that eat the shrimp eggs and algae that can double every 12 hours. We lost a billion-dollar-a-year crab fishery. Read: MAKE ALASKA GREAT AGAIN. Free download: www.HankKroll.com
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JAMES PARKIN [R]
The friction between Alaska and the federal government has reached a boiling point. This isn’t just about regulation; it’s about our fundamental right to manage our destiny. From the devastation of trawl bycatch in our waters to the federal “lock” on 65% of our lands and the blatant withholding of our 90% revenue share, D.C.’s encroachment now threatens our very governance.
We are fighting back with the “Alaska First” Defense Strategy. We are moving past polite requests to aggressive legal assaults against “unconstitutional takings” and pursuing the Alaska Sovereignty Act to nullify overreaching federal rules. By mobilizing public outcry and exploring financial leverage—like escrowing federal fees—we are demanding the federal government honor its statehood promises. Alaska is not a federal colony; it is a sovereign state. We will reclaim our land, our resources, and our future.
DESTRY PAYNE [AK PARTY]
The Federal Government has only a few powers delegated by the States. To handle issues between states and govern foreign trade. The state’s powers supersede the Federal Government within a State. Reference the 10th Amendment of the Federal Constitution. Federal Jurisdiction in a State: all Forts, Magazines (that is, places where powder and other things used by an army are laid up), arsenals (that is, buildings where arms are kept), and Dock-yards (that is, places where vessels of war are built). Reference 1828 ELEMENTARY CATECHISM ON THE CONSTITUTION page 35. There is no other Federal jurisdiction within a state. The founders engineered this to protect State sovereignty. Federal regulations hold no force or power outside of D.C. within a State and are inoperative as if the regulations never existed. This must be addressed.
TREG TAYLOR [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
BRUCE WALDEN [R]
What we have to decide is whether we are okay with being the nation’s national park, or if we are a state. I am a Conservationist. I believe that our resources should not only be safeguarded but used for the betterment of the people, as promised at statehood. I do not recognize the authority of the EPA, and we will simply proceed to develop our resources and will fast-track such things as clean-burning coal. We will be fought on this by the Environmentalists (note, marked difference between them and the Conservationists) and will, in the words of Wally Hickel, Adjudicate, Adjudicate, Adjudicate. Promises were made in 1958 and 1959. We kept our end of that bargain.
BERNADETTE WILSON [R]
The candidate chose not to answer.
