Watch the closing message here
November 3, 2026
Today, Alaska governor candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (JKT) and lieutenant governor running mate Zac Johnson released their closing campaign message. After spending the last nine months speaking with tens of thousands of Alaskans in every corner of the state, JKT and Johnson are making their final case for energetic, cross-partisan leadership that will represent all Alaskans and deliver lower costs, better schools, and healthy fisheries.
Throughout the campaign, JKT and Johnson have heard the same message in communities across the state: Alaskans are demanding change after years of schools struggling, fisheries crashing, costs rising, and too many people feeling like they have to leave Alaska to build a future.
Highlights from the campaign, which JKT launched on February 4 while polling in the single digits, include:
JKT has visited 62 Alaska communities, campaigned in all 19 of Alaska’s organized boroughs (the only 2026 candidate known to have done so), and traveled over 40,000 miles (approaching double Earth’s circumference) within Alaska.
Based on his commitment to listening and governing on behalf of all Alaskans, JKT has campaigned in every corner of the state, including a 350-mile Arctic snowmachine trip to Northwest Arctic villages in April, a 450-mile boat trip down the Yukon River in July, and a 100-mile boat trip on the Kuskokwim River in October, visiting villages that haven’t seen a statewide candidate in decades. He has joined a freight trucker for the drive up the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay, participated in Utqiagvik’s subsistence bowhead whale harvest, delivered pizza by bushplane in Bristol Bay, ridden the M/V Tustumena from False Pass to Unalaska, and visited Southeast Alaska communities from Yakutat to Klawock. On the Railbelt, JKT and his team have handed out over 90,000 flyers to individual Alaskans, each corresponding to a face-to-face point of contact.
As of the morning of November 3, the JKT-Johnson campaign is powered by 10,097 individual donors — more than double the previous record for the most donors to an Alaska campaign for governor. Over 4,677 individual Alaska residents have contributed to JKT, more than the other three candidates combined, and equal to roughly 1 in 158 Alaskans.
Over 900 Alaskans’ donation to JKT was their first donation to any federal, state, or local Alaska campaign, and over 1,600 Alaskans donated to JKT as their first time giving to a non-federal Alaska candidate (state records go back to 2011).
JKT and Johnson earned cross-partisan endorsements from over 80 Republican and independent leaders from across Alaska, including Senator Lisa Murkowski (R); former governors Frank Murkowski (R), Bill Walker (I), and Tony Knowles (D); former State Senate President Rick Halford (R); former State Senators Lesil McGuire (R) and Gary Wilken (R); former State Representatives Jesse Sumner (R) and Anna MacKinnon (R); and every member of the legislature’s Bush Caucus; as well as dozens of Democratic leaders. He also earned endorsements from over 50 Alaska Native leaders, over 40 commercial fisheries leaders, the editorial boards of the Anchorage Daily News and the Sitka Sentinel; and a coalition of 23 labor organizations.
“I launched this campaign because I believe Alaskans deserve leadership that’s energetic, bipartisan, accessible to the people, and tirelessly committed to solving our state’s problems,” said Kreiss-Tomkins. “As governor, I’ll work with anyone from any party to move Alaska forward.”
JKT’s video recapping his campaign and encouraging supporters to vote is available here.
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About Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (JKT), born and raised in Sitka, represented Southeast Alaska’s island communities for 10 years in the State House. He first won election at age 23 after leaving college without a degree to launch a grassroots campaign, traveling by ferry and floatplane to knock on nearly every door across Southeast Alaska, defeating an established incumbent by 32 votes.
A member of the Bipartisan Coalition in the House, he worked across the aisle to protect public education, reduce trawl bycatch and protect our fisheries, invest in infrastructure, revitalize Alaska Native languages, and protect the Permanent Fund from overspending. After a decade in the legislature, Kreiss-Tomkins retired in 2023, and spent two years working for a national nonprofit on science and technology policy on Capitol Hill, as well as working on campaigns across Alaska and the country.
Since leaving the legislature, he's seen what all Alaskans have witnessed: a distracted state government that is failing to solve Alaska’s big problems. Prices keep rising. Basic infrastructure is neglected. Schools struggle or close.
Alaska needs new energy and new leadership. JKT is running for governor to support our schools, bring down costs, and give families a reason to stay — so that the next generation will also call Alaska home.
To learn more, visit jktforak.com.
About Zac Johnson
Zac Johnson was born in Anchorage and spent his early years in a dry cabin his parents built along Turnagain Arm. In 2000, at age 19, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as an infantryman. He served two deployments, including during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
In 2006, Zac returned to Alaska and enrolled at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He volunteered as a firefighter and EMT with the Girdwood Fire Department before joining the Alaska State Troopers in 2013. As a state pilot and trooper with the Fairbanks-based Rural Unit, he worked missions from Dillingham to Arctic Village, and nearly every community in between. He later became a Tactical Flight Officer flying remote search and rescues, fishery patrols, and drug busts with federal law enforcement.
In 2023, Zac won election to the Anchorage Assembly as an independent. He has served as a strong advocate for public safety and responsible government. Today, Zac lives in South Anchorage with his wife, Liz, and continues to lead with Alaskan values of compassion, community, and hard work.
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