Former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor will not appear on the November general election ballot after Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom declined Monday to certify his nomination on the recommendation of the state’s campaign finance regulator.
The Alaska Public Offices Commission found by a 4-1 vote Thursday that Taylor had violated financial disclosure requirements by failing to provide the full names of tenants at an apartment building he owns in Anchorage. Taylor provided his tenants’ first name and last initial, citing fears his tenants could be harassed.
“This is a difficult decision made under an extraordinarily tight timeline and in circumstances we have not faced before,” Dahlstrom said in a statement. “The law, however, is not unclear. When a candidate has not complied with Alaska’s financial disclosure requirements within the time required, the Lieutenant Governor may not certify that person’s nomination. My responsibility is to follow that law and apply it consistently.”
The decision allowed Taylor’s running mate, Candi English, to take his place, meaning English is set to advance to the November ranked choice general election for governor. English selected Taylor’s wife, Jodi Taylor, as her new running mate, her campaign said Monday afternoon. Neither has previously held elected office.
“We were given no time to act on this,” English said in a statement provided by a campaign spokesperson. “We are here to make sure that California megadonors don’t control the future of Alaska.”
A financial disclosure filed Monday afternoon by Jodi Taylor, who co-owns the apartment building that led to her husband’s disqualification, did not list the tenants’ full names.
The shakeup Monday afternoon added to a chaotic scramble as candidates in the governor’s race jockeyed for position and looked to unify voters behind them.
Democratic former state Sen. Tom Begich withdrew from the race Friday, putting fifth-place finisher Treg Taylor in position to advance.
In an interview, Begich said his second-place finish behind fellow Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins made it unlikely he could raise enough money to run an effective statewide race. Additionally, dropping out would give Kreiss-Tomkins a better shot at winning, Begich said.
“The data showed that the ability to change the direction of the state of Alaska was significantly better if there was one rather than two Democrats in the race,” Begich said.
Republicans, however, declined to consolidate their support behind their top vote-getter in the governor’s race, business owner Bernadette Wilson, who received 10% of the vote and finished third in the overall tally.
The fourth-place finisher, Republican former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson announced Wednesday in a social media video that despite calls to drop out, he would stay in the race. He and running mate Josh Church say no Republican in the large field got a clear mandate from primary voters.
“The Bronson-Church ticket gives us the best chance at making sure our state has a Republican governor in November,” Bronson said.
There was also a minor shakeup Monday in Alaska’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, which could tilt control of the chamber, as Democrat David Leslie dropped his bid challenging Sen. Dan Sullivan.
That will likely allow Republican Gerald Heikes to advance to the general election as the fourth candidate and leave former Congresswoman Mary Peltola as Sullivan’s sole Democratic challenger on the November ballot. Outside groups spent money backing Heikes and Leslie ahead of the primary in hopes of drawing votes away from Sullivan and Peltola.
That race is also set to feature retired Petersburg teacher Dan J. Sullivan, who said Monday he would not exit the race.
The Division of Elections certified the primary count Monday afternoon. Roughly 167,000 Alaskans voted in the primary, or about 27% of the state’s registered voters.
