Governor Debate Tonight, Election Rules on the Ballot

The four candidates for Alaska governor meet Thursday night for the first statewide gubernatorial debate of the 2026 election. The debate comes as voters prepare to decide whether to keep Alaska’s current election system or change it through Ballot Measure 2. Courtesy of Alaska Public Media.

Alaska’s four candidates for governor take the stage tonight, just weeks before voters make a decision that could change how the state runs elections.

The first statewide Debate for the State of the 2026 election begins at 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Oct. 8. The debate features the four candidates appearing on the November general-election ballot for governor and is hosted by Alaska Public Media in partnership with Alaska’s News Source and KTOO.

Lori Townsend will moderate, with questions from Alaska Public Media’s Eric Stone and Alaska’s News Source’s Wil Courtney. The debate will be available through Alaska Public Media TV, Alaska’s News Source, KTOO 360TV and Alaska Public Radio Network stations, with an online stream through Alaska Public Media.

But while voters listen to the candidates talk about the future of Alaska, another question is waiting on the November ballot: Should Alaska keep the way it currently elects its candidates, or go back to an older system?

Measure 2 Goes Beyond Ranked-Choice Voting

Ballot Measure 2 would repeal Alaska’s current election system, which uses an open top-four primary followed by ranked-choice voting in the general election. The measure would restore partisan primaries and return the general election to the traditional system in which voters select one candidate.

Alaska began using the current system in 2022 after voters approved it in 2020.

Under today’s rules, candidates from different political parties compete in the same primary. The four candidates receiving the most votes advance to the general election. In November, voters rank those candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those ballots are counted for the voters’ next choice. The process continues until one candidate has a majority.

Measure 2 would remove that process. Political parties would hold their own primaries to select nominees, and the general election would return to a one-choice system. The measure also includes changes involving special elections and other election procedures.

There’s More in the Measure

Two words can decide how Alaska votes: YES or NO. But before marking that box on Ballot Measure 2, Alaskans deserve to know what each vote would change, who is funding the fight, and what happens to the state’s political-money disclosure rules. | Alaska Headline Living ©️

The measure isn’t limited to how voters choose candidates. It also changes portions of Alaska’s campaign-finance laws, including rules concerning contributions and disclosures.

That matters because a voter looking only at the words “ranked-choice voting” could miss the fact that Measure 2 would make a broader set of changes to Alaska election law. The official ballot language spells out those changes.

For voters, the November ballot therefore presents two different decisions.

First: Who should be Alaska’s next governor?

Second: What should Alaska’s election system look like going forward?

Those decisions aren’t the same, and voters can consider them separately.

The Governor’s Race

From left to right: Dave Bronson (R), Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D), Treg Taylor (R) and Bernadette Wilson (R). The field includes a former Anchorage mayor, a former Alaska state representative, a former attorney general and an Anchorage business owner.

Tonight’s debate gives Alaskans an opportunity to hear directly from the four candidates before the Nov. 3 general election.

The governor’s race is also a real-world example of the election system voters are being asked to reconsider. The candidates reached the general election through Alaska’s current top-four primary process.

After tonight, voters will have less than a month to decide who they want to lead the state.

They’ll also have to decide whether the system used to get those candidates onto the November ballot should remain in place.

Watch Tonight

The Alaska Governor Debate begins at 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Oct. 8.

It will air on Alaska Public Media TV, Alaska’s News Source and KTOO 360TV, with statewide radio coverage through the Alaska Public Radio Network. Alaska Public Media will also provide an online stream.

The next statewide debates will feature the U.S. House candidates on Oct. 14 and the U.S. Senate candidates on Oct. 15, both at 7 p.m.

Alaskans will make their decisions on Nov. 3, 2026.

Primary Sources

Alaska Division of Elections: Official information about Ballot Measure 2 and Alaska’s election system.
State of Alaska Online Public Notices: Official notice and ballot information for Measure 2.
Alaska Public Media: Official Debate for the State schedule, participants and viewing information.
Alaska Division of Elections: Official explanation of Alaska’s current top-four primary and ranked-choice general-election process.

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