Following the Aug. 18 Alaska primary election, gubernatorial candidate Dave Bronson has said he wants to wait until all the ballots are tabulated before making a final decision on his campaign.
Bronson is currently the fourth highest vote-getter in the governor’s contest with 8.4% of the vote. He trails leading Democrats Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (21.6%) and Tom Begich (20%), as well as Republican Bernadette Wilson (10.4%).
If he maintains his fourth place standing, Bronson will advance to the general election. He can, however, withdraw, which would then allow the fifth place finisher to move up and advance to the November contest.
Wilson made headlines last year when she called on all her fellow Republican candidates to join her in vowing to drop out of the race if they did not finish as the top GOP vote-getter in the primary.
Wilson maintains that it will be easier for a Republican to win, if there are not multiple GOP names on the final November ballot, which will be done using ranked-choice voting.
Bronson’s Aug. 19 statement did not indicate which direction he was leaning.
“I could not be more proud of the campaign we have run, the incredible team that has stood beside me, and the grassroots support we have received from Alaskans in communities across our great state,” he said. “I am deeply grateful to every Alaskan who placed their trust in me, every volunteer who gave their time, and every supporter who helped carry our message. It has been an honor to earn your support.”
He noted that there are still thousands of Alaskans whose votes have not yet been counted.
“And every one of those votes deserves to be counted,” Bronson added. “From day one, my goal in this race has been bigger than any one campaign: ensuring Alaska elects a Republican governor in November.”
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The race for the third and fourth place finishers remains fairly close. Other candidates in the running include former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor (7.4%) and former Alaska legislator Click Bishop (7.1%).
“The results remain extremely close, with thousands of ballots still outstanding,” Bronson concluded. “We owe it to those voters to let the process play out. Once the final tabulation of early votes are reported next Tuesday and we have the full picture of where this race stands, our campaign will make the decision that best advances that goal and gives Republicans the strongest path to victory in November.”
11 Comments
Treg and Bishop are very selfish and self centered individuals. They’ll never drop out for Bernadette. Those two would rather stay in and vainly attempt to win the governor’s race. It might be better the AKGOPand the two play the Walker Tactic when he was running for re election and Gov Dunleavy accused Walker and another candidate where one would drop out and his voters will support the other.
I appreciate Mr Bronson’s thoughts and I agree that whichever Republican scores highest stays in the race for governor and the others drop out. It seems to be the only way to defeat the RCV system. I also think that by Republicans coming together in this way it will increase enthusiasm and may help pull votes to Senator Sullivan.
If the current order holds, then Bronson needs to stay in because those placing behind him will move up if he drops out. Bronson and Wilson should campaign together urging their supporters to rank the other one 2nd. If I’m-never-gonna-rank voters refuse to do so, then I hope they enjoy their new Democrat governor. Peltola made it in once because Begich and Palin voters refused to budge. And all conservatives lost their seat to Pelosi for 2 years. Unless or until ranked choice voting is voted out, this is the election system we must deal with. We can rank and win or insist on resisting the system and lose repeatedly. If Democrats can figure out how the system works, then conservatives can too. We’ve got the numbers. And in most areas of life, we’ve got the sense. Let’s apply both, band together, and elect a conservative governor in 2026.
I have always respected Mayor Bronson and could easily have voted for him or Sen.Hughes had Bernadette not been a close friend and not announced first. All other candidates, treat this as our Republican primary (as we all wish AK had, yes on 2!) and suspend your campaigns so we can have a single strong candidate and campaign. A cohesive party run for this office at a crucial time in our history is essential.
Bronson would have to wait until the drop-out date passed. This would keep Taylor or Bishop from moving into the vacated slot. Then, he could instruct his supporters to vote for Wilson. Some would refuse to, no doubt. But that’s not much different than having them vote for Bronson and marking Wilson as their 2nd choice. Once Bronson finished 4th, his voters’ 2nd choice would then go to Wilson. But suppose it is Wilson who finished 4th? Or, suppose the Dems drop JKT and he becomes Begich’s LtGov? Ifyou are confused, so am I. Trying to game this Daffy Duck System is madness. No wonder the Democrats like it.
What is the drop-out date?
I don’t think that Bronson should drop out because the next two candidate teams are republican also. I’d rather have him in the top four instead of the two others.
You can bet Wilson is a new fan of RCV. Another compromised candidate. Makes me nauseous having to vote for lesser of evils. I may bow out this time.
Bronson was a disaster for Anchorage. I’m in now way saying that the current leaders will be any better but he is definitely not the person to lead Alaska.
It is very clear that ALL GOP candidates failing to gather the highest Republican votes in the primary should pull out and fully support the “one” winner. RCV is designed to make full use of a “divided” GOP vote. Those candidates need not be selfish, — and should do what’s right in helping a “unified” GOP win the general election.
I hope to see a future where Adam Crum becomes our governor. He is a solid candidate with a great vision for what kinds of opportunity Alaska could have in front of it.
All these other candidates are just more of the same “run of the mil” politicians that want to leave a mark for themselves rather than visualize and then go through the work to build it.