Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, former state Sen. Click Bishop file to run for Alaska governor
Bishop and Dahlstrom on Monday both filed letters of intent to run for Alaska governor in next year's general election. That filing allows Dahlstrom and Bishop to start making campaign expenditures and to fundraise. A letter of intent is the first step to formally announcing a candidacy for office.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Alaska's 12th governor, is currently in his second term. The Alaska Constitution prohibits governors from holding office for a third consecutive term.
Political observers expect a crowded field of candidates running to succeed Dunleavy. Bishop and Dahlstrom are the first people to file letters of intent for the 2026 gubernatorial election.
Dahlstrom, 67, has served as Dunleavy's lieutenant governor since being elected in 2022. After receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Dahlstrom unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Congress last year, dropping out after the primary election. She previously served as commissioner for the Alaska Department of Corrections for three years in the Dunleavy administration.
Dahlstrom did not immediately respond to an interview request on Monday evening.
Bishop, a fellow Republican, served in the state Senate for 12 years starting in 2013. He represented a massive Interior district in the state Senate, and previously served as commissioner for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development for more than five years under Republican Govs. Sarah Palin and Sean Parnell.
Bishop, 67, announced in May last year that he would not run for reelection in the 2024 election. At the time, he strongly hinted that he would run for higher office.
"If I was going to do it, now is the time to do it. That's why I left the Senate when I did," he said in a brief Monday interview.
Bishop said that his priorities include reducing the cost of energy, education, fisheries, the Alaska Marine Highway System, public safety and improving the state's highway system.
"We've got a lot of important issues," he said.
Bishop said that he would soon start "a statewide listening tour." He said that he had worked across Alaska, and would visit communities across the state to make sure that "we're lining up with what people want."
"A wise man seeks a large counsel," he added.
Bishop said it was "way too early" to name a running mate. But he had been thinking about who could potentially be his lieutenant governor candidate.
Bishop served in Republican caucuses, and most recently, in a bipartisan Senate majority. He said that one his "strengths" is working together with legislators across the political spectrum.
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