Bernadette Wilson

Bernadette Wilson was born on the Kenai Peninsula and raised in Anchorage; her grandmother was born in the village of Naknek. She hosted statewide television and radio programs, was chief executive of the Alaska Policy Forum, held a leadership role at Americans for Prosperity, and worked on political campaigns, including as a senior adviser to Nick Begich's campaign for Congress. She was a sponsor of an effort to repeal ranked-choice voting in Alaska. In 2016 she launched Denali Disposal, a commercial waste company in Anchorage; a fire in March 2025 nearly destroyed it. She has not held public office. She announced her candidacy for governor on May 13, 2025, the first candidate to enter, with former state Senator Mike Shower as her running mate. In the August 18, 2026 open primary she finished third with 13,717 votes, or 10.43 percent, in preliminary results, the most of any Republican, and appears on the November 3, 2026 ranked-choice ballot with Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor.