Crum sweeps straw poll at packed Soldotna governor debate

By THE ALASKA STORY

Aug. 7, 2026 – Adam Crum emerged as the clear favorite in both audience votes Thursday night during a two-stage gubernatorial forum that drew more than 175 people to Soldotna.

Not all of the leading candidates for governor attended. Tom Begich, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Bernadette Wilson and Click Bishop declined invitations to participate. Wilson was prescheduled to be at an event for House Speaker Mike Johnson and Congressman Nick Begich in Anchorage. Treg Taylor had RSVP’d but in the end did not attend the Soldotna forum.

Nine candidates participated in the opening round: Crum, Dave Bronson, Shelley Hughes, Matt Heilala, Bill Walker, Edna DeVries, Lesil McGuire, Meda DeWitt and Michael Gilbert.

The Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce hosted the event at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, where the packed room heard more than two hours of discussion about education, fisheries, state spending, energy, taxes, outmigration and other issues likely to shape Alaska’s race for governor.

The unusual format gave audience members a direct role in deciding which candidates would remain on stage. The audience was going to vote people off the island after the first round.

During the first portion, each candidate was given 90 seconds to answer two questions. The first asked candidates to name one measurable accomplishment they would want Alaskans to identify four years from now as something that changed the state’s future.

The second asked whether they supported the $700 increase in the Base Student Allocation approved by lawmakers in 2025.

After the opening answers, eligible audience members voted in the first of two straw polls.

Of the 133 ballots cast, Crum led the field with 47 votes, or slightly more than 35%. He also finished first in a pair of gubernatorial straw polls held on the Peninsula in April.

Heilala placed second in the opening vote with 22, followed by Bronson with 21, Hughes with 18 and DeWitt with eight. Those five advanced to the second round of questions.

Four candidates were, in effect, voted off the island. DeVries received seven votes, Walker six, and McGuire four. Gilbert did not receive a singe vote.

The second round lasted slightly more than an hour. Candidates had 60 seconds to answer each question, with another 30 seconds allowed if moderators asked a follow-up.

The finalists faced several policy questions covering some of Alaska’s most difficult and persistent problems.

Candidates were asked how their administrations would respond to declining king salmon returns and whether they agreed with Alaska Department of Fish and Game assessment that bycatch alone cannot explain the scale of the decline.

They were also pressed on what they would cut during a budget shortfall, which spending they would protect, what terms they would accept from developers involved in the proposed Alaska LNG project, how they would address Alaska’s continuing net outmigration and high cost of living, and whether they would veto a broad-based tax increase that could discourage private investment.

The candidates also had to confront the realities of Alaska’s top-four election system. Moderators asked what circumstances might cause them to withdraw if they advanced to the general election but trailed another candidate who appealed to a similar group of voters.

Crum remained firmly in first place, receiving 46 of the 126 second-round votes, essentially unchanged from his opening total.

Hughes came in second, Bronson remained in third place, while DeWitt finished fourth and Heilala finished fifth.

Moderators directed individualized questions to each finalist. Bronson was challenged over his contentious relationship with the Anchorage Assembly during his term as mayor. Heilala was questioned about his criticism of Alaska’s political establishment. Hughes was asked how her legislative experience would translate to managing the executive branch. DeWitt was asked what she learned from leading the effort to recall Dunleavy.

Crum’s question focused on his experience managing state finances: What decision would he make as governor that would upset people but nevertheless needed to be made?

Crum said he had already made such a decision.

He pointed to investment changes involving the Constitutional Budget Reserve, saying the state was not earning a sufficient return and needed to accept greater investment risk to improve its performance.

“We are the richest poor state imaginable, with the most cash in the bank and the worst cash flow,” Crum said, confronting the controversy over that investment decision directly.