ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The fifth-place finisher in Alaska’s gubernatorial primary is calling on the third- and fourth-place finishers to consolidate into a single ticket as the Monday deadline for candidates to withdraw looms. On both sides of the political aisle, some candidates and observers are calling for a consolidated race leading up to November, after 17 candidates jockeyed for the seat in ...

A voter selects an "I voted" sticker after voting early in Alaska's statewide primary election at the Midtown Mall in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 17, 2026.

Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News/TNS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The fifth-place finisher in Alaska’s gubernatorial primary is calling on the third- and fourth-place finishers to consolidate into a single ticket as the Monday deadline for candidates to withdraw looms.

On both sides of the political aisle, some candidates and observers are calling for a consolidated race leading up to November, after 17 candidates jockeyed for the seat in the primary.

Former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor asked businesswoman Bernadette Wilson and former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson “to combine their campaigns and present Alaska Republican voters with a united alternative,” in a statement issued Sunday evening.

Taylor is in a position to appear on the November ballot after the second-place finisher in the race, Democrat Tom Begich, said Friday that he is dropping out and endorsing the top finisher, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.

However, Alaska’s campaign finance commission has recommended that Taylor be kept off the ballot because he failed to complete a financial disclosure as required by law. The Division of Elections has refused to comment on whether it will allow Taylor to run.

Under Alaska’s election laws, the top four vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. However, candidates in the top four positions can withdraw, clearing the way for the next-finishing candidate, until Monday evening.

With a single Democrat remaining in the race, the ballot is likely to include three Republicans.

Pressure is growing for Wilson, Bronson and Taylor — who present similar platforms emphasizing their affinity for President Donald Trump — to consolidate. The three collectively received only 25.4% of the vote, after a total of 12 Republicans appeared on the primary ballot.

Even if some of the Republican candidates withdraw, the candidates that will be elevated on to the November ballot are likely to be Republicans, too. The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place candidates are all GOP members.

Alaska’s U.S. Rep. Nick Begich on Sunday endorsed Wilson, who received 10% of the vote, ahead of Bronson’s 8.1% and Taylor’s 7.3%. Wilson worked for Begich’s 2024 campaign, which paid her between $5,000 and $10,000 last year, according to her financial disclosure.

“My commitment throughout the process to the candidates was that I would back the first place Republican finisher,” Begich wrote in a social media post. “Bernadette Wilson finished as the leading Republican in the primary. Consistent with that commitment, I am endorsing Wilson for Governor. Now is the time for Republicans to come together.”

“While I believe other Republican candidates should rally behind Wilson to increase our chances of winning, I will rank any Republican who remains in the race on my ballot,” Begich added.

Bronson, in a video posted on social media last week, has committed to stay in the race despite pressure to drop out.

Alaska’s ranked choice voting system allows voters to indicate their preference for more than one candidate. If the top vote-getter failed to receive 50% of first-place votes, the winner is determined by ranked choice tabulation.

In 2022, Begich lost a U.S. House bid after he and former Gov. Sarah Palin, a fellow Republican, spent much of the election cycle attacking each other. Democrat Mary Peltola won. After that experience, the Alaska Republican Party pressured all of Begich’s Republican opponents in the 2024 race to drop out, clearing the way for Begich to win.

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