Former State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Shelley Hughes has officially endorsed her primary opponent Treg Taylor in his bid to become Alaska’s next governor.
Hughes, of Palmer, finished in eighth place in the 17-candidate primary last month with 5.3% of the vote. Since only the top four primary candidates can advance to the general election, Hughes was eliminated.
She is the first gubernatorial ousted primary candidate to issue an endorsement for the general election.
“I didn’t lend my name lightly or rush to a conclusion,” Hughes said in a video message.
Hughes said she judged the field of remaining GOP candidates, which also includes Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson, with deliberation.
“The first half of my assessment boiled down to who was the most electable,” Hughes said. “With a socialist-leaning liberal in the race, the stakes are high. A far-left governor would be devastating: income taxes, other taxes, suppressed resource development, more wokeism and failure in our schools. I needed to get behind the most electable candidate—the one right-of-center and moderate voters can get across the finish line.”
That “socialist-leaning liberal” is Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who is the lone Democrat running against three Republicans. He finished first in the primary with 22.5% of the vote, followed by fellow Democrat Tom Begich, who took 20.8%. Begich, however, withdrew from the race to consolidate his left-wing supporters behind Tomkins. This opened the door for Taylor, who finished fifth in the primary, to move up into the final four for the general election on Nov. 3.
Taylor thanked Hughes for her backing.
“Shelley’s vetting was tough and thorough, and I’m honored to have passed the test,” he said. “I’m proud we see eye-to-eye on values and on concrete policy solutions that will make Alaskans’ lives better and our state stronger. Earning her support matters. She is well loved and respected across Alaska. I know her endorsement will carry weight. Thank you, Shelley.”
In addition to electability, Hughes said she also made her decision based on Taylor’s policies.
“I was only going to stick my neck out if a candidate committed to implementing some of the specific proposals and plans my campaign team worked hard to develop to get Alaska on track,” she said. “I had encouraged the remaining candidates to take up any of the action steps my team and I proposed,” she continued. “Treg is the only one who did. He not only met the high bar I set on character and electability, but what excites me most is his commitment to the feasible plans we offered – to address decades-old problems, to begin work for future decades, to build an economy of strength and resilience, and to secure freedom and opportunity for Alaskans for generations.”
Taylor listed several of Hughes’ policies that he backs.
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“We need the Sunset Audit Commission to drive agency efficiency and cost savings,” he said. “I am committed to a constitutional framework for grand juries. No more filtering. It will be an open door, a pathway to uphold citizens’ rights. A full energy portfolio. Alaska lands in Alaskan hands. A shift to abundance management for fish and game. A stronger agriculture sector, increased food security. I’m excited – and the time is right – to work with the private sector to connect our rail to the Lower 48 and to the Port of Nome. Positioning Alaska as the intercontinental transportation hub of the Northern Hemisphere will lower the cost of goods in Alaska, open new sites for responsible resource development, and strengthen our transportation system so Alaska exports become a reality.”
Hughes’ lieutenant governor running mate Blake Gettys added that while Taylor got the endorsement, both he and Hughes plan on using ranked-choice voting to rank the three GOP candidates on the November ballot to ensure a Republican wins the governor’s race.
“We’ll both rank the right, but the Taylor/English ticket will be our top choice,” Gettys said.
