Control of the governor's office decides state budget priorities, resource development, and the size of Alaska Permanent Fund dividends.

The winner sets appointments and veto power, shaping oil and fiscal policy, federal relations, and programs for rural and Indigenous communities over a four-year term.

Click Bishop, Adam Crum, Edna DeVries, Shelley Hughes, Treg Taylor, Lisa Murkowski, Mary Peltola, and Hank Kroll are named contenders.

Also on ballots are Matt Claman, David Bronson, Nancy Dahlstrom, Matt Heilala, James Parkin, Bernadette Wilson, Tom Begich, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, and Bruce Walden, representing state, federal, and local offices.

Alaska's top-four primary and ranked-choice general reshape campaign strategy and determine how votes transfer in tight races.

Endorsements, fundraising, oil prices, debate over Permanent Fund dividends, and turnout among urban, rural, and Alaska Native voters are the main levers that change support between rounds.

Summer 2026 primaries will determine which four candidates advance to a ranked-choice general election in November 2026.

Monitor primary tallies, early-vote trends, quarterly fundraising reports, Alaska Native and municipal endorsements, major debates, and any oil-price or PFD announcements that could shift turnout and second-choice preferences.