By SUZANNE DOWNING
Aug. 19, 2026 – For weeks, a political group calling itself “Conservative Alaska” spent heavily attacking conservative gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson while presenting itself to voters as a grassroots conservative organization. The group was a mystery, but no more.
A campaign finance report filed one day after Alaska’s primary election reveals that organized labor was helping finance the operation.
An Alaska Public Offices Commission report filed Wednesday shows that the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 341 PAC contributed $5,000 to Conservative Alaska. The contribution was made by check on Aug. 11 — one week before Election Day — but was not publicly disclosed by the group until Aug. 19, after voting had concluded.
Until that filing appeared, Conservative Alaska’s disclosed money had come entirely from John Richard Carr, a Mat-Su construction company owner who serves as the group’s chairman.
The organization’s website identified Carr as its top contributor and carried two prominently featured attacks on Wilson, including claims that she had supported Sen. Lisa Murkowski and was “not the leader Alaska deserves.”
Wilson has never voted for or supported Murkowski. When she was state director for Americans for Prosperity, she was filmed trying to manage an activist who was interrupting an AFP event at which Murkowski had made an unannounced visit. The group tried to make it look like Wilson was protecting the US senator.
Conservative Alaska reported $10,000 in activity in an Aug. 6 filing and another $10,250 in its seven-day report filed Aug. 11. Its attack advertising became one of the most aggressive efforts aimed at Wilson during the closing weeks of the crowded gubernatorial primary.
The Alaska Landmine described the first commercial as a “brutal attack ad” and reported that Conservative Alaska was chaired by Carr.
But the latest filing adds an important piece of information that voters did not have before casting their ballots: The group bearing the “Conservative Alaska” name was also receiving money from one of Alaska’s most politically active labor unions.
The $5,000 contribution came from the political action committee of Laborers Local 341, an Anchorage-based union representing workers in construction and other industries. Local 341 has been active in Alaska elections and has supported candidates aligned with organized labor.
The union has also been involved in other closely watched Republican races. Rep. Zack Fields, an Anchorage Democrat who works for Local 341, was seen campaigning in Eagle River for Ruby Jones, the union-backed newly minted Republican challenger to conservative Rep. Jamie Allard.
That timing allowed Conservative Alaska to continue attacking Wilson under a conservative-sounding banner through Election Day without voters knowing that union political money had entered the organization.
The APOC filing can be viewed here.
22 thoughts on “Dirty politics: Labor union money revealed behind ‘Conservative Alaska’ group that attacked Bernadette Wilson”
Good. Wilson has them scared and running.
Click Bishop is history, right where he should be. His donors are primarily a conglomeration of union money, Carpenters and Operating Engineers included. Bishop is an arrogant left-wing kook trying to convince people, including conservative union members, that he was always a Republican. But Bishop has little appeal to the majority of voters, and ultimately, he fooled very few people. His constituency was always the well-brainwashed rank and file union members and Interior Natives (which his wife is one). One of Bishop’s recent campaign mailers touts his experience as an “apprenticeship trainer.” It’s a reference to the 25 years he spent with Local 302 of the Operating Engineers, a union run out of Seattle, Washington, in which he became one of the union bosses’ good old boys up in Fairbanks. Click didn’t have the courage to include this information on his mailer because he was afraid people would think he was a 100% union man and a radical Democrat, trying to fool the public. Bishop is a fraud through and through. Thank goodness the voters said NO to Click Bishop. His governorship would have been a complete disaster.
BTW, it was Click Bishop himself who gave the go-ahead to begin attack ads on Bernadette Wilson. Click is such an arrogant POS that he already thought he was governor and that Bernadette needed to be taught a lesson in politics.
I hope Bernadette has a long memory about this.
Heard lots of stories about Clickie this summer. How about the one where he almost killed an.underaged high school kid who he put in his race boat without the parents consent. The kid was seriously injured. Clickie never even had the fortitude to face the parents and apologize. What an irresponsible jerk. And Clickie wanted to be governor. We wish Bernadette would have brought this up during the campaign.. This kind of behavior really turns off the public.
The boat race injury to the juvenile kid is true. I remember it. 1991 near Nenana. Bishop had the audacity to put this underage boy in his race boat without any prior training or permission by the parents. The kid got injuries for life. And Bishop never went and saw the parents or said I’m sorry. That bastard should have been sued big time. He’s a low life.
Had I known about this before , I would never have voted for Click or given his campaign money. Disgusting.
Art Hackney really got it wrong this time. Hope he got his money’s worth out of Click. Dirty union money still pays Art’s bills, …..right, Art?
Democrats – dirty tricks all the way down, from fake candidates, to fake claims, to fake beliefs. Lets introduce them to Pyrrus and his victory. Cheers –
Local 351 Labors Union.
When there is dirty political corruption in Alaska look no farther than Local 341.
Joey Merrick husband of setting State Senator Kelly Merrick(R) wants all to believe that his wife is not affected by his dirt ball low life crap. Nope crickets from Kelly Merrick a so called Republican.
Merrick needs to go in 2028 for this reason alone. There are many of us in Chugiak/Eagle River that did not trust Merrick because of her radical Husband. It is proving it self true. Hence why Zack Fields on the Joey Merrick payroll is attacking Kelly Merrick’s biggest competitor in 2028, Eagle River’s setting State Representative. It is so egregious that the Lt Governor sanctioned froth mouth Zack Fields.
We in Chugiak Eagle River have a good memory and a long memory. Looking forward to 2028 where we can flush Kelly Merrick where she and her diabolical Husband belong in the toilet.
Click Bishop is right there with low-life Merrick. Bishop was another union thug, coming out of Local 302 Operators, doing whatever his union lords in WA told him to do. Big money coming out of both Operators and Carpenters unions. Bishop is a dirt bag. He will not be governor. And he’s too effing old to be in the game any longer. And the word in Anchorage is that he’s in mental decline with early Alzheimer’s
Since Click can’t get elected, even with his young native girlfriend running mate, he should join JKT and get a new gig as elder statesman for LGBTQ candidates. Then appointment as Commissioner of Drag.😆
Art Hackney picked a real loser this time.
The only practical and realistic way to push back against – and beat! – these sleazy union machine corruptors is to work on the Bernadette Wilson campaign! Send her $, place yard signs, knock on doors, hold a fund-raiser. Wilson is our only defense against the woke, anti-2A, tax and spend, big union Democrats; minstrel Begich and Nancy-boy JKT. Begich and JKT, like groomer and groomed disciple, are entirely likely to reach a deal to combine dollars and supporters. Only Bernadette can save us.
I’m glad and proud to say I voted for Bernadette Wilson. She has the fortitude to fight against the corruption machinations in the legislature.
I voted for Bronson with intent of keeping 🐂💩 Bishop out of the general election. Will probably rank Bernadette 1, Dave 2, and have to ponder which is the lesser of the Evils on the D side.
Republican candidates need to consolidate and come up with the one that can win in the general to win governorship.
Didn’t work, I voted for her. Some of these ads are paid for by outside manipulators so I ignore them. Any ad that is that angry & willing to attack without proof or support of their stance makes me look at that candidate more closely as a real option. They tanked themselves.
Bernadette is a populist outsider – a small business owner.
She understands what this state needs.
We DO NOT need career politicians.
If Murkowski’s Americans for Prosperity visit was unannounced how did activist James O’Keefe know to be there to ambush her? In my memory, this was a planned event.
Nonetheless, I will be consolidating my vote on one Republican, even though she/he may not be my preference. The alternative is far, far worse.
Please read Phil Izon’s 8/20/26 column. Only choosing one candidate on the RCV ballot increases the chances of your ballot being “exhausted.” Too many people,including me, do not realize this about RCV ballots.
https://alaskawatchman.com/2026/08/20/in-november-alaskans-must-rank-top-picks-to-avoid-ballot-exhaustion/
Agreed. I wasn’t clear when I said I’d consolidate my vote. I will rank the two conservatives — will Tom Begich drop out as is rumored? — but I don’t trust the un-audited machine-ranking process itself. I will not be ranking the Democrat candidates in any way.
Union members need to pay attention and have more involvement in where the political donations go. In many, many instance the dollars go into a pac which pools money with an environmental stop everything, don’t develop resources, end all good paying (ie union) jobs, very liberal effort.
It’s so counterproductive to good jobs!!
Joey Merrick, utterly corrupt union boss thug, his bought and paid for wife state senator kelly Merrick who’s repeatedly joined democrats and given them power, and far left extremist democrat rep zack fields, there’s an unholy alliance if ever there was one. I must say, I am shocked (sarcasm) that “unions” are wielding their power in Alaska, as usual.