By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 17, 2026 – Alaska State Sen. Matt Claman has reported raising $229,407 in his first major campaign finance filing since entering the 2026 governor’s race.
Claman, an Anchorage Democrat who filed for governor on Nov. 10, submitted his year-start report to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, listing dozens of contributions from individuals, professional contacts, lobbyists, and unions.
A trial attorney with Lane Powell and a past president of the Alaska Bar Association, Claman’s early fundraising shows support from a mix of attorneys, medical professionals, retirees, and organized labor.
Among the donors giving $1,000 or more were several attorneys and lobbyists, including Jennifer Coughlin, Joe Geldhof, Janet Platt, James Torgerson, Robert Evans, Heather Brakes, Wendy Chamberlain, Ashley Reed, and Jeffrey Rubin, as well as larger gifts from contributors such as Linda Cerro, Mark Kroloff, and Robert Landau, who each gave $2,500, and Barbara Carlson, $5,000.
Claman’s report also included political action committee support, including NEA–Alaska PAC and Public Employees Local 71 PAC, both reporting $1,000 contributions.
The most notable single contribution listed in the filing was a $100,000 check from Tom Loushin, of Surprise, Arizona, far exceeding any other donation shown in the report pages reviewed.
Claman hasn’t spent much: He reports $12,585.97 in expenditures and no outstanding campaign debts.
The year-start campaign finance deadline is Tuesday at midnight, and reports from candidates across Alaska are beginning to flow into APOC’s database.
Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, a Republican who filed in September, was the one of the first gubernatorial candidates to report this cycle. He raised $217,000, according to the APOC filing.
Bronson announces he has raised more than $217,000 since filing for governor
The Alaska Story will be reviewing filings from all 16 gubernatorial candidates throughout the week as the early money race begins to take shape ahead of the 2026 election.
2 thoughts on “Sen. Claman reports $229,407 raised in his bid for governor”
I’m still not voting for him. I didnt even want him as my senator, let alone governor.
Go away, Clam Man. Nobody needs you.
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There will be more than enough pro-status-quo, pro-big-spending, pro-business-as-usual goober-natorial candidates already.