Early shakeup as Alaska candidates have until 5 pm Monday to file for office

Iris Samuels, Anchorage Daily News on Jun 1, 2026

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Monday is the filing deadline for candidates looking to run in Alaska’s elections, spurring a dash for gubernatorial hopefuls and congressional candidates to file all necessary paperwork to appear on the Aug. 18 primary ballot.

With a U.S. Senate seat, the U.S. House seat, the governor’s mansion and 50 legislative seats up for grabs, candidates have until 5 p.m. Monday to formally enter the races.

Governor’s race

As of Monday morning, 11 candidates for governor had filed the paperwork to appear on the ballot, including indicating a running mate, with more expected before the 5 p.m. filing deadline.

In a last-minute development, current Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced Monday that she would drop out of the governor’s race. Dahlstrom was an early addition to an eventual slate of 20 candidates to indicate plans to run in the open governor’s race, with current Gov. Mike Dunleavy termed out from seeking reelection. Dahlstrom previously ran in — and dropped out of — the 2024 U.S. House race.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to step away from what has become a very crowded field of candidates in the race to be Alaska’s next governor,” Dahlstrom, a Republican, said in a statement.

Congressional races

In the U.S. Senate race, 14 candidates had filed the paperwork to appear on the ballot, including Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan and a challenger by the same name who entered the race Friday. Mary Peltola, a Democratic former U.S. House member, is seen as the most high-profile challenger to incumbent Sullivan.

In the U.S. House race, nine candidates indicated plans to appear on the ballot as of Monday morning. That list includes Republican incumbent Rep. Nick Begich and two challengers who have been campaigning for months: Democratic pastor Matt Schultz and independent fisherman and educator Bill Hill.

The list of candidates for U.S. House also includes incarcerated felon Eric Hafner, who last appeared on Alaska’s ballot in 2024. Hafner, who has never been to Alaska, has twice filed to run in Alaska from behind bars, scrambling campaign strategy and spurring an Alaska Supreme Court case. Eric’s mother, Carol Hafner, who also doesn’t live in Alaska, has filed to run for U.S. Senate. Both are registered Democrats and perennial candidates.

Legislative races

Fifty of Alaska’s 60 legislative seats will also be up for election in November, including half of all Senate seats and all 40 House seats. Two high-profile Senate members are retiring — Senate President Gary Stevens and Senate Finance Committee Co-Chair Lyman Hoffman — spurring competitive races to replace them. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon is among the candidates looking to succeed Hoffman, who has served in the Legislature for nearly 40 years.

Under Alaska’s election system, all candidates will appear on a single, nonpartisan primary ballot in August. The top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the November general election.

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