Oct. 6, 2026 — Alaska’s latest gubernatorial fundraising reports add a financial dimension to what recent polls have already shown: Bernadette Wilson is the strongest-positioned Republican heading into the final month, while Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins holds a substantial advantage in campaign money.
The 30-day reports required by the Alaska Public Offices Commission show a sharp divide among the three Republicans still competing for governor.
- Wilson reports approximately $526,000 raised and more than $207,000 in cash on hand.
- Dave Bronson reports about $57,000 raised and roughly $6,000 remaining.
- Treg Taylor reports approximately $268,000 in receipts, but most of that consists of candidate financing and donated services.
For Republicans weighing who can compete with Kreiss-Tomkins through Election Day, those are staggering differences. A campaign needs money to reach voters, build support, and explain its strategy.
Good intentions do not buy airtime.
Taylor’s headline fundraising number requires a closer look. Approximately $140,000 came from Taylor and his running mate, Candi English. Another approximately $93,000 consisted of an in-kind contribution of media-buying services.
Subtract those amounts from the rounded $268,000 total, and about $35,000 remains.
Taylor reports approximately $30,000 in cash on hand.
Bronson’s financial position is tighter still. With roughly $6,000 remaining, his campaign has little room for a substantial statewide advertising effort unless new contributions arrive.
Wilson, meanwhile, reports more than $207,000 remaining cash on hand, even after her statewide broadcast television buy. That is more than five times the approximately $36,000 Bronson and Taylor have on hand combined.
Her $526,000 fundraising figure also exceeds their combined reported receipts of approximately $325,000, even before accounting for how much of Taylor’s total came from candidate financing and in-kind support.
The polls point in the same direction.
The New York Times/Siena poll conducted Sept. 24–Oct. 1 placed Kreiss-Tomkins at 40% in initial preferences, Wilson at 20%, Bronson at 15%, and Taylor at 11%. Its ranked-choice simulation eliminated Taylor first, then Bronson, leaving Wilson facing Kreiss-Tomkins in a 52%–48% final round.
AARP’s September survey likewise placed Wilson ahead of the other Republicans: Kreiss-Tomkins received 40% in initial preferences, Wilson 20%, Bronson 14%, and Taylor 7%. Its final-round simulation favored Kreiss-Tomkins, 55%–45%.
The Cygnal survey reported earlier by The Alaska Story showed Wilson at 24%, compared with Taylor’s 9% and Bronson’s 8%. In that survey, Wilson exceeded her two Republican rivals combined.
The surveys differ in their estimates. They agree on the Republican leader and now the fundraising figures reinforce that picture.
Bronson and Taylor have advocated ranking the Republican candidates as a way to keep the governor’s office in Republican hands.
But promoting that strategy requires more than saying it at forums or posting it online. Reaching supporters and undecided voters across Alaska requires massive advertising, voter contact, and repeated explanations of how ballot rankings work.
With approximately $36,000 in combined cash on hand, their campaigns have almost no resources to carry that message statewide. Independent groups could help, but their spending decisions are separate from the candidates’ campaign accounts. The Alaska Republican Party has not stepped up to help.
Kreiss-Tomkins faces a much different financial situation. His campaign says the latest report brings his election-cycle fundraising above $4 million, with more than $1 million in cash on hand, exceeding the combined cash balances of his three Republican opponents.
The Democratic candidate has both a consolidated field and the resources to promote himself.
Republicans have three candidates competing for attention and contributions.
Will Republican money get behind the frontrunner? Republican outside money is entering the race. The Republican Governors Association transferred $1.6 million to Kodiak PAC, according to campaign-finance disclosures reported this week. The unresolved question is how that money will be used, including whether it will elevate one Republican over the others. The safe bet is that the Kodiak PAC will just attack JKT’s record.
A divided field complicates that choice. Attacking JKT gives Republican groups a common target. Building support for a particular alternative requires a different decision about which candidate offers the strongest opportunity.
Wilson calls on Bronson, Taylor to suspend their campaigns as poll shows Republican vote split handing victory to JKT
The polling and fundraising figures make Wilson’s case increasingly clear.
For business leaders and donors concerned about the direction Alaska would take under Kreiss-Tomkins, the question is becoming practical: Will they back the Republican frontrunner with enough resources to compete?
27 thoughts on “Fundraising reports sharpen governor’s race: Wilson leads Republicans, while JKT holds a commanding money advantage”
1) Bronson
2) Taylor
3) Wilson
My ranking order as well👍
Why not just write in Sarah Palin as your third choice?
1. Wilson.
2. Taylor.
3. Goofy. (write-in)
4. Bronson.
This is my ranking too, excluding Goofy, who still outranks the other cartoon character, JKT.
Same. Bernadette gets my number 1 slot, then probably Taylor. I’ll vote for Bronson as 3 while I hold my nose. I met him on the campaign trail and he reminds me of a grouchy old man who is pissed off at the world in general. If you are a candidate for governor aren’t you supposed to at least smile?
I will tell you what is painfully clear as I read this article. Bronson and Taylor have become spoilers in this governor race. The data shows they have zero chance of winning yet they are going to rearrange the deck chairs on the titanic. What are they thinking? Is it arrogance? Pride? Inability to give up the spotlight? Upset they were beat by a petite blond female? I promise you this, if they try and reenter politics in the future after very likely causing JKT to be our next governor, I will do everything in my power to ensure every Alaskan is reminded of their actions from that day forward. Conservatives and republicans can be our own worst enemy. Do people even understand they can rank Wilson only and it’s ok? Because she is in the lead and will obviously remain so if you only ranked her on the ballot your ballot never gets exhausted. The only true reason for those who actually understand the RCV system to rank all 3 R candidates is if they first vote for one of the 2 lower tickets. If you vote for Bronson or Taylor first, you have to vote for Wilson as the 2nd or 3rd choice because once the first round is complete, then the second round, Bronson and Taylor both get eliminated. If you didn’t in that case fill out the other R bubbles your ballot gets exhausted, or better said no longer gets counted because you didn’t have a 2nd or 3rd choice. Yes its confusing, on purpose, so the left wing nuts who wrote it can do exactly what’s happening right now. And yes the easiest answer is to just tell a very uninformed public to just “rank all 3” or get JKT. Fine I guess. I don’t disagree with Ms. Wilson that the best path is for Bronson and Taylor to quit campaigning and tell their supporters to get behind the leading ticket, it’s the best chance we have of beating a far left progressive who will destroy our resource development per the very democrat platform he supports. We truly have become the laughing stock of the nation. Sad.
Quit fooling yourself John, you’re paying too much attention to those push polls.
Are you in love or what? Keep your eye’s on experience, age achievements, knowledge, military service, not debt problems.
Third Gen,
Look pally, I’ve been to this dance before. Republican vote split 2 ways means a Democrat wins, ( with the possible exception of Hammond in ’74, and Wally II) much less a 3 way split.
Bash Bernadette all you like, it won’t help Bronson’s chance of winning.
LETS hope that everyone turns out and votes YES on 2.
“Quit fooling yourself” is exactly what thousands of Alaskan’s were doing when they elected daddy’s appointed Murky as a write in candidate who lost in a primary even though they were not all smart enough to spell her name correctly. She is nothing more than a stain on Alaska’s history. “Are you in love or what?”
She’s lost me a long time ago, I was a Joe Miller voter .
I was a Kelly Tshabaka voter. Kelly had five times the credentials as Lisa Murkowski and Kelly (a Harvard Law School graduate) passed the bar exam on her first try.
Anonymous 3rd generation ‘person’. If by push polls you mean every metric since before the primary including polls that almost all showed Wilson leading and were correct, the primary results themselves, every poll since the primary including the NY Times which is a far left rag showing her in the lead of the R’s and getting further ahead, and fundraising totals where Wilson is clearly well ahead and gaining ground. Then yes, I suppose you can believe whatever you want about where things stand on the republican side of the governor’s race. I am in “love” with none of our candidates. I see shortcomings in all. As seems the case in virtually every election in my lifetime I am once again stuck choosing the lessor of two evils. But, seriously, JKT is so far left, so inexperienced in “life” even by your own standards above, it’s not even a consideration of voting for one of the republican candidates vs. a far left extremist. Even IF you like one of the candidates over the other but people take their votes home with them by not ranking all 3 if they don’t vote the lead R ticket number 1, then mathematically we hand the victory to a young, left wing radical who will do his best with a likely democrat led legislature to turn this state into California as fast as possible. Wilson, Bronson and Taylor all have skeletons in their closet from what I read across the feeds. I am not surprised the most mud has been thrown at Wilson since she has been the leading candidate, out front always puts a bullseye on you. I would bet if Bronson or Taylor were ever in the lead they’d be getting the same treatment. Taylor didn’t even make the top 4 and is only there due to Begich doing the “best” thing for the democrats and stepping out so they could consolidate behind one candidate. Otherwise he wouldn’t even be on the ballot. I see a fair amount of experience, age, knowledge, military service and “problems” in each of the republican teams when you include their ltgov candidates. On the whole there’s some balance between each of them for the good and bad. Not sure we can expect much more in the current political environment. It’s still a clear choice between a far left wing agenda taking hold of Alaska, or a republican team that isn’t that, imperfect though they may be.
That would have been great advice for the primary election. The primary is OVER.
This governor’s race is tailor made for RCV. Scott Kendall pulled this one off for the Democrats and made a pile of money. I hope Kendall’s own kids all become trannies. Cuz that’s where RCV is taking us. Alaska will become a trannytoon state with this little f*cker JKT at the helm.
I know a bit about Bernadette, here’s some advice. If you support her, DON’T loan her money! You’ll have to take her to court to get the debt repaid.
What is the point of this piece?
Rank Wilson #1?
Only rank Wilson?
Don’t bother ranking Dave or Treg?
The more you smear the other Republican candidates, the more likely we are to have morons ranking Wilson only and exhausting their ballots.
Wilson can call “spoiler” all she wants, but having her friends writing weekly columns smearing the other Republican candidates is pretty stupid at this point. Nobody likes to talk about the fact that, if Bronson and Taylor had dropped, there was a long list behind them who would’ve moved up. Do we really believe they would have dropped as well? Would Wilson have convinced or shamed them into doing so? Not likely. She wanted a strong showing in the primary so she could make the claim she had a mandate from the people of Alaska. She didn’t get it with 3% more than Bronson. Her sleight of hand didn’t produce the tremendous gap she hoped for, and her inability to work with the other two Republican candidates after the primary says more about her than it does about them.
Having the courage and humility to speak to them in person rather than releasing a video publicly criticizing them and asking them to step aside might’ve produced some different results.
Good points. What assurances did we have that ALL republicans downline would drop out as well? Asinine to attack Bronson and Taylor. Rank all 3 and vote yes on 2!
Downing used to be an excellent reporter. Now just biased puff pieces. Something has changed.
NAM, I’d agree that the point of this article is somewhat muddled. Also, I don’t think much of polls. And, I’m not the biggest fan of Wilson. All that said, here are a couple of basic facts:
The only possible way to keep JKT out is for all opposition to move in one single direction. Wilson/Bronson/Taylor
The primary election is the only concrete indicator we have as to order.
Wilson would have a “mandate” even with 1%. There has to be a certain order. Bronson, at this point, has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. Taylor has no chance at all. Maybe you’ve resigned yourself to the idea that JKT will take the race, and decided to go with snowball’s chance/no chance, so that you’ll feel better about your choice. If so, that is the most absolutely loser position you could possibly take.
I’m not worried about being considered a loser.
I am interested in voting my conscience.
That’s what I do, whether we have RCV or not.
But how will your conscience feel knowing you helped elect JKT?
Numbers don’t lie. All the “anybody but Bernadette” people need to get over it.
Funny how they don’t like these latest poles that are consistently showing her and Mike Shower in the lead. Now I guess “poles “ are bad since the other R’s have a weak showing.
By the way, I’ve never heard her campaign claim to “have a voters mandate” after the primary. The other two candidates and their rabid last few holdouts are just pushing sour grapes.
And campaign support and contribution numbers don’t lie either. These speak volumes…Thank you Alaska Story for publishing the latest figures.
Bernadette talked about the importance of a strong showing in the primary and the need for a mandate in an interview.
And really, polls are designed and executed to produce favorable outcomes for particular candidates. They’re not unbiased.
Treg Taylor is by far the best candidate for Governor. Outstanding record of achievement.. I will rank all three, Taylor, Bronson and Wilson.
Taylor and Bronson are doing this to get JKT ejected with a hope of a sweet across-the-isle position in the next administration or a good ol’e boy favor from the JKT lower 48 money machine.
Yeah, let’s hope that JKT is”ejected”. Treg is doing this because he would be the best Governor we can elect. Look at the records, Wilson, never an elected position nor leadership and a lot of baggage. Bronson, rejected Anchorage mayor with admittedly a very hostile assembly.
Tom Begich earned 20% of the Dem’s vote and immediately knew exactly what to do well before the absentee ballots were even counted.
Republican strategy is to try and convince every single supporter to use RCV to push all three horses across the finish line which is opposite of what they have been preaching in the past. “Pick one and only one candidate” was all we ever heard up till now.
Ironically there is a ballot measure on the very same ballot urging supporters to delete the same voting system they are using to push all three horses at once hoping for a winner.
Sadly I feel only the smartest horse will win and Alaskans will suffer the consequences of voter apathy and illiteracy.
Can anyone even imagine the nightmare if all three races are lost to the dems as well as RCV remains our voting circus.
Dem’s will be singing Elvis’s “Blue Hawaii” and Willy’s “Blue skies” and Republicans will be crying the blues singing “There’s a tear in my beer”. Cheers everyone. Education is never free and this lesson will cost Alaskan’s dearly.