By SUZANNE DOWNING
Aug. 31, 2026 – Treg Taylor delivered a blistering response Tuesday to the decision barring him from Alaska’s general election ballot, accusing the Alaska Public Offices Commission of selective enforcement and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom of violating his right to due process.
“APOC’s unprecedented decision to recommend my removal from the ballot represents the worst of the unelected bureaucracy: massive authority with no accountability,” Taylor said in a statement.
Dahlstrom announced Monday that she would not certify Taylor’s nomination for governor after APOC concluded that his 2026 public official financial disclosure did not substantially comply with Alaska law within the required 30-day period.
Taylor finished fifth in the Aug. 18 primary but moved into position to advance after second-place finisher Tom Begich and his running mate withdrew from the race.
The controversy centered on Taylor’s disclosure of income from rental properties. Taylor listed his tenants by first name and last initial, saying he wanted to protect their privacy after experiencing threats and harassment. APOC determined that the disclosure was incomplete because it did not include the tenants’ full names.
In a 4-1 vote, the commission recommended that Dahlstrom not certify Taylor if he advanced to the general election. Dahlstrom accepted that recommendation.
Taylor said APOC allowed him to participate in the primary despite knowing about the alleged defect, only to use it against him after the votes had been cast.
“They decided an issue that should have been left to Alaskan voters to decide,” Taylor said. “The arbitrary and capricious manner in which APOC exercised its discretion to recommend my removal from the general election ballot, after allowing me to go through the primary election with the very same alleged defect, reeks of selective enforcement and offends due process.”
Taylor also said Dahlstrom, who competed in the 2026 gubernatorial primary before ending her campaign, should have removed herself from the certification decision.
“The Lieutenant Governor, who should have recused herself from the decision due to her participation as a candidate in the gubernatorial race, has set a precedent that will haunt Alaska elections well into the future,” he said.
Taylor, a former Alaska attorney general, said he has watched APOC discourage ordinary Alaskans from becoming involved in politics by sending threatening compliance letters rather than helping people correct filing mistakes.
“Because of the Lieutenant Governor’s decision, APOC has now been further weaponized to determine our elections,” Taylor said. “At a time when public trust in elections is at an all-time low, APOC abused the discretion it was entrusted with and further eroded the very system that ensures our democracy.”
Taylor has maintained that he attempted in good faith to file the required disclosure by the statutory deadline but was unable to submit the document because of problems with APOC’s electronic system. He later filed the information by a deadline established by the commission.
“After all, if they can remove me—someone who made a good-faith effort to file the required information by the statutory deadline but could not get the document to submit because of APOC’s own system, and who then successfully filed the required information by the deadline set by APOC—this can happen to anyone,” he said.
Taylor said the decision deprived him of the opportunity to determine his own course following the primary, including whether to remain a candidate or step aside in the interest of Republican unity.
“Today, I was robbed of the ability to decide for myself whether to move forward in this race or stand down in an effort to put Alaska first,” he said.
Taylor ended his statement by thanking the Alaskans who supported his campaign.
“To everyone who stood with me throughout this campaign, donated, volunteered, knocked doors, made calls, shared our message, and simply believed in what we were fighting for: thank you,” he said. “I am deeply grateful for your support and for every Alaskan who was willing to stand up and make their voice heard.”
11 thoughts on “Treg Taylor blasts APOC, lieutenant governor after removal from ballot”
“ Treg Taylor delivered a blistering response Tuesday . . . .” -Suzanne Downing. Impressive! Taylor posting from the FUTURE!!!
I didn’t vote for Treg, but agree APOC and Dahlstrom screwed him.
I hope he entertains a lawsuit.
#MeToo
Treg……
Go give Ms. English and your wife big kisses from us Republicans. Forget APOC and Dahlstrom. They did us all a big favor and don’t even know it.
Treg Taylor wasn’t going to win anyway. But with his former running mate and his wife now in the Final Four, we have a clear shot at keeping the homosexual ticket out of the governor’s mansion. Ranking the red, now, is the only way to go. Republicans need to develope Part 2 of their strategy to get Bernadette or Bronson into the gov’s Mansion. Good times, fun, and games lies ahead.
You know, an English/Taylor all women team for gov/gov Lt. might be welcomed by the Republican Party. Two conservative straight women against a homosexual team of boys would be a race the entire country could get behind.
Taylor could have fixed this issue weeks ago if he and his staff thought that compliance was in his best interest. But his innate narcissism wouldn’t let him comply – after all, that would mean he goofed. So he gambled by refusing to admit his mistake, and now he has lost everything.
For us Alaskans, this was a gift. Treg proved by this action what a terrible Guv he would’ve been.
I don’t agree. Why should his tenants be outed in an APOC report? As a landlord, he had every right to try and protect his tenants. In fact, as a landlord, he had a duty to protect their full identities or face possible lawsuits by his tenants. Their is more to this story than we know. I suspect some persons deep in the Dunleavy had a strong beef with Treg while he was AG. In politics, you can’t trust anyone, even your friends.
Agreed, Paul. This is a horrible decision, especially coming on the heels of the Decoy Dan saga. Alaska looks to be even more corrupt than Louisiana or California. I hope Taylor sues.
AP story published in the Anchorage Times, April 2, 1975: “House Minority Leader Tom Fink has ended his nine-year legislative career, choosing to resign rather than divulge the names of his insurance company clients.”
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Story published in the Times the day before from their Juneau bureau: “Fink, an insurance man, said a much-amended version of the new law makes it mandatory that he disclose his clients, and this he will not do.”
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I’m not sure I see what’s different today, other than perhaps someone’s sense of entitlement and/or the pervasive weaponization of “privacy” (as if you really have any, considering how much people talk about Flock lately).
To not disclose the name of tenants is not grounds for disqualifying Treg Taylor and does Dahlstrom have a favorite in the governors race, are we in a gender war by women wanting a female governor?
Summarize; I see a lawsuit coming.