Former talk radio host dials into Alaska’s race for governor, says energy is key

In her first interview since announcing her bid for Alaska governor, Bernadette Wilson, a former radio host and longtime conservative figure in Alaska, spoke to Fox News Digital about the issues in the race and working with the Trump administration on energy development.

Wilson, a lifelong Alaskan who was born on the Kenai Peninsula and grew up in Anchorage, is a political outsider. Even so, politics does run in her family. Her great-uncle Wally Hickel served as governor, first in the 1960s as a Republican and again in the early 1990s as a member of the Alaska Independence Party.

She noted she comes from a long line of business people, including her grandfather, who “built a good chunk” of the state’s largest city.

“I myself own a garbage company … and we are celebrating our ninth year in business,” she said. She added that her entrepreneurial experience and knowledge of state politics through her family history and own career in radio and activism is a good mix.

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Alaska gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson (Bernadette Wilson for Governor)

Wilson opposes ranked choice voting, in which votes are tallied in a hierarchical manner through several rounds. Conservatives in the red state blamed ranked choice voting for the election of former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola. Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited.

“Ranked choice voting disenfranchises voters. We see that it is … so confusing to them. We see people who don’t understand the process, and it absolutely has got to go. That is mission-critical,” she said.

In other states, ranked choice voting has had mixed reviews. In Virginia, proponents on the right credited it with helping the state party select businessman Glenn Youngkin as its nominee for governor in 2021, which led to a major Republican upset that fall.

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Energy is the most important economic topic for Alaska, and Wilson said she looks forward to working with the Trump administration on its stated plan for a domestic energy renaissance if she’s elected.

“Energy is obviously huge for Alaska. Under the Biden administration, Alaska was sanctioned more times than … the country of Iran,” she said.

“We have the ability to lead the rest of the country [in this field].”

Asked about another Trump-related topic, the ongoing tit-for-tat with Canada over claims to make it the 51st state and Ottawa’s bipartisan outrage at American tariffs, Wilson said, as governor, she would want to work on cross-border infrastructure projects.

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Wilson grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, pictured here. (Zihao Chen via Getty Images)

“Obviously, Canada sitting right along the border to Alaska has a huge impact for us. And so getting a railroad through Canada would definitely be a great No. 1 priority when it comes to our interaction with that particular country,” she said.

Wilson faces Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and State Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, in the 2026 contest.