The Alaska Current | May 4, 2026
The five candidates most likely to be on the short list of progressive and moderate voters in the 2026 race for Alaska’s next governor shared a stage this week for a forum with a decidedly progressive message.
“The goal is to give voters clear and comparable information on how each candidate will protect and strengthen access to care,” said Joelle Hall, the president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, one of the event’s organizers. “Medicaid touches every part of Alaska’s health system, so decisions made at the state level will have immediate and real consequences for the families, providers and communities. So we’re here tonight to make sure those stakes are understood, and the candidates are speaking directly to them.”
The forum was hosted by the Alaska Medicaid Coalition, the Alaska Caregivers Union SEIU775 and progressive-leaning organizations and labor groups at the Anchorage Loussac Library on Wednesday. Hall noted that only candidates who replied to a survey saying they would work to “protect Medicaid” — a key source of medical coverage for a vast swath of children, mothers and working-class Alaskans, which is routinely targeted for cuts by conservatives — if elected.