25-07-2025
Palmer lawmaker is 7th Republican to enter governor's race
Jul. 24—State Sen. Shelley Hughes, a Palmer Republican, is the seventh Republican to enter Alaska's 2026 governor's race.
Current Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy is termed out from seeking reelection.
Hughes was first elected to the state Senate in 2017. She previously served in the state House beginning in 2012, when former Gov. Sean Parnell appointed her to fill a vacancy.
Hughes, who previously served as the Senate majority leader under all-Republican leadership, currently serves in the Senate minority, where she has regularly supported Dunleavy's policy agenda.
"We are on the verge of big and new things in Alaska," Hughes said in a written statement that preceded her campaign announcement. "If we do things right, I have no doubt that the sun will be rising in our great state in a game-changing way."
During a Thursday event announcing her campaign in Palmer, Hughes touched on a wide range of issues, including education, promoting the Alaska LNG project and in-state agriculture, and her concerns about outmigration and the high number of Alaskans on Medicaid.
Other Republicans already in the race include Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, former state Sen. Click Bishop, Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, Anchorage business owner Bernadette Wilson, Anchorage podiatrist Matt Heilala and Angoon resident James Parkin.
Hughes' run for governor will make for an open state Senate race. No candidates have announced runs for her seat.
Alaska's state primary election will be held in August 2026. No Democrats have formally entered the governor's race.
Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola in a social media post on Wednesday accused the Dunleavy administration of "extremist politics" and said "a better way is coming next November."
Peltola's former chief of staff Anton McParland said in a text message that her post was not meant as a campaign announcement.
"But based on conversation we are having with Alaskans, we feel confident there will be a pro-education candidate on the ballot," said McParland.
