{"id":150,"date":"2026-05-19T18:07:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150"},"modified":"2026-05-19T18:07:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:07:45","slug":"for-alaskas-gubernatorial-candidates-a-sprint-to-find-running-mates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150","title":{"rendered":"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Matt Heilala, a Republican and a podiatrist, says he\u2019s running to be the next governor of Alaska, and he\u2019s put up real cash to back it up: He\u2019s invested more than $1 million of his own money in his campaign.<\/p>\n

Read more Alaska Legislature votes to ban certain synthetic food dyes in school meals<\/a><\/p>\n

But officially, Heilala isn\u2019t a candidate. And he won\u2019t be until he\u2019s found someone to join his ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. That\u2019s because state law requires a running mate before filing an official declaration of candidacy for governor.<\/p>\n

With the June 1 filing deadline looming, Heilala is not alone. Of 18 candidates who say they\u2019re seeking to succeed GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is termed out, just five have announced running mates \u2014 leaving more than a dozen candidates with just two more weeks to find one.<\/p>\n

Heilala said that at one point, he\u2019d secured a \u201chigh-profile\u201d Republican who initially agreed to join the ticket before backing out weeks later, just before an announcement. Others have volunteered who just haven\u2019t been the right fit\u00a0\u2014\u00a0one who, Heilala said, was \u201ckind of lazy,\u201d and another with \u201ckind of a sordid background as a politician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heilala, who\u2019s never held elected office, said he\u2019s looking for a running mate with \u201cnew and young energy.\u201d But, he added, it\u2019s been hard to find someone who will settle for the $140,000 lieutenant governor salary, when people in their 30s and 40s are in their \u201cprime earning years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come back and say, \u2018You know what? This would be a $50,000 to $70,000 pay cut for me,\u2019\u201d Heilala said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want someone as a running mate where the worst-case scenario is that we win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job of Alaska\u2019s lieutenant governor involves supervising the agency that runs state elections and regulating use of the state seal; they also finish out a four-year term if a governor resigns or dies.<\/p>\n

The current matchmaking process is a relatively new development in Alaska politics. It\u2019s\u00a0an artifact of a successful 2020 citizens initiative that redesigned state-level elections to include a nonpartisan primary, plus the use of ranked choice voting in the general election.<\/p>\n

Prior to that initiative, gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates ran in separate party primaries, with the winners merging their campaigns for the general. The 2022 gubernatorial election was the first in which candidates paired up before the primary\u00a0\u2014 but with Dunleavy seeking re-election, the field was far smaller, without much jockeying for running mates.<\/p>\n

This time, 12 Republican candidates have said they\u2019re running, plus three Democrats and three independents.<\/p>\n

None of the Democratic candidates \u2014 former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, former state Sen. Tom Begich and current state Sen. Matt Claman \u2014\u00a0have announced a running mate. <\/p>\n

On the Republican side, longtime political operative and activist Bernadette Wilson, one of the party\u2019s frontrunners, picked former state Sen. Mike Shower as her running mate in September.<\/p>\n

Former state Sen. Click Bishop recently announced that he\u2019s running with Greta Schuerch, an independent who works in a leadership position for the company that runs Red Dog, one of Alaska\u2019s largest mines. Former state Sen. Shelley Hughes last month said that she\u2019d picked a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, Blake Gettys, as her running mate.<\/p>\n

But several other top GOP candidates, like former attorney general Treg Taylor, former revenue commissioner Adam Crum and current Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, have yet to announce their selections.<\/p>\n

At this point, with so many candidates in the race, recruiting is \u201ctricky,\u201d said Suzanne Downing, a conservative political writer who\u2019s highlighted the running mate-less candidates on her website.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who\u2019s qualified for that job and smart enough is probably going to say, \u2018Gee, 18 people in the race,\u2019\u201d Downing said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big risk for anybody to put their name in the hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Republican who found himself on the end of multiple recruiting efforts was Rick Whitbeck, a former vice chairman of the state party who recently left a job as state director for U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got three calls in less than three weeks,\u201d Whitbeck said in a phone interview. By calling him, he quipped, the gubernatorial hopefuls were \u201cgoing deep into their bag of candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Pipeline-for-pension deal falls apart as the Alaska Legislature\u2019s regular session nears end<\/a><\/p>\n

The calls were exploratory more than they were outright job offers, Whitbeck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, \u2018What do you think my chances are? What do you think you could add to the ticket?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThey were good conversations \u2014\u00a0I would say they were serious, but I don\u2019t think they were looking for an answer or offering the position outright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitbeck ended up taking a job with a trawl fisheries nonprofit, leaving the GOP lieutenant governor recruiting pool even smaller.<\/p>\n

With two weeks to go, political observers say that one logical outcome is for some of the running mate-less candidates to combine their campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn both parties there are credible, capable candidates who, if they pair up before June 1, can probably strengthen their ticket,\u201d said Mead Treadwell, who served as lieutenant governor under Republican Sean Parnell between 2010 and 2014. \u201cI would say that\u2019s the race right now, for combinations that can consolidate votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meda DeWitt, a traditional Tlingit healer who\u2019s running for governor as an independent, said she\u2019s been asked by \u201ca few of the other candidates\u201d to be their running mate. DeWitt says she\u2019s amenable to the idea, but her allies don\u2019t want her to take a back seat, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are around me, who are advising me, who are supporters and have their ears to the ground say there\u2019s a good buzz around me being an Alaska Native person at the top of the ticket,\u201d DeWitt said. \u201cThey would not have the same excitement if it was same old, same old at the top of the ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeWitt said her own recruitment process is ongoing.<\/p>\n

Her \u201cshining star\u201d pick for a running mate had work commitments they couldn\u2019t abandon, she said. In a meeting with her advisors last week, they together picked three other top options whom DeWitt now plans to ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m looking for isn\u2019t just an appendage,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I\u2019m looking for is someone who can actually be a teammate who can dig in, because there\u2019s so much work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heilala acknowledged having his own conversations about merging his campaign with other gubernatorial candidates \u2014 including one he said he had with Taylor, the former attorney general. But after a discussion about becoming Taylor\u2019s lieutenant governor running mate, Heilala\u2019s own advisors thought he would make the better gubernatorial candidate, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to use phraseology, but I\u2019m the change agent. I\u2019m not the status quo guy. And I bring a very different skill set,\u201d Heilala said. \u201cI can\u2019t be coaching them along from the backseat with things that I bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Taylor, Evan Lee, responded to an interview request about lieutenant governor recruitment and Heilala\u2019s comments with a prepared statement saying that \u201cwe\u2019re excited about the momentum behind the campaign and the team coming together for the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll share more on the ticket in due course,\u201d Lee said. \u201cRight now, Treg is focused on the fundamentals of winning a statewide race: communicating a clear message, raising the resources to compete, and earning voters\u2019 trust across Alaska.\u201d<\/p>\n

Begich, one of the leading Democrats in the race, said he\u2019s also been asked by another candidate about his interest in merging tickets and running as lieutenant governor. His answer: \u201cI\u2019m not looking for any job. I\u2019m looking for this job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Begich said that after direct conversations with five different people, he\u2019s chosen a running mate. He\u2019ll reveal their identity, he added, in an announcement May 27th.<\/p>\n

Nathaniel Herz welcomes tips at [email\u00a0protected] or (907) 793-0312. This <\/span><\/i>article<\/span><\/i> was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Herz. Subscribe at this <\/span><\/i>link<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Alaska Legislature considers bill mandating paid leave for many new parents, starting in 2030<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State law requires a running mate before filing an official declaration of candidacy for governor. The clock is ticking before a June 1 filing deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nFor Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates - Moving to Alaska<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates - Moving to Alaska\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"State law requires a running mate before filing an official declaration of candidacy for governor. The clock is ticking before a June 1 filing deadline.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving to Alaska\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T18:07:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a34ab8aa99bbfe6b285ea9b5fa35a5a\"},\"headline\":\"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T18:07:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150\"},\"wordCount\":1384,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150\",\"name\":\"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates - Moving to Alaska\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T18:07:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a34ab8aa99bbfe6b285ea9b5fa35a5a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png\",\"width\":1960,\"height\":1492},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?p=150#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving to Alaska\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a34ab8aa99bbfe6b285ea9b5fa35a5a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtoalaskausa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates - Moving to Alaska","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates - Moving to Alaska","og_description":"State law requires a running mate before filing an official declaration of candidacy for governor. The clock is ticking before a June 1 filing deadline.","og_url":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150","og_site_name":"Moving to Alaska","article_published_time":"2026-05-19T18:07:45+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a34ab8aa99bbfe6b285ea9b5fa35a5a"},"headline":"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates","datePublished":"2026-05-19T18:07:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150"},"wordCount":1384,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150","url":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150","name":"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates - Moving to Alaska","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png","datePublished":"2026-05-19T18:07:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a34ab8aa99bbfe6b285ea9b5fa35a5a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/485d3dc8093aaa64529b8c3132891aa4.png","width":1960,"height":1492},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=150#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"For Alaska\u2019s gubernatorial candidates, a sprint to find running mates"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/","name":"Moving to Alaska","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4a34ab8aa99bbfe6b285ea9b5fa35a5a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}