On File, Off Record. Alaska's AI Governor Race.
24 days.
The deck
SWIPE, SCROLL OR CLICK A SLIDE TO GO FULLSCREEN · 10 SLIDES
The story
Then Alaska's primary narrows a field of 17 who would write its AI rules. Reports made public this week show Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins with the largest reported haul, 1.8 million dollars, most from Lower 48 donors per the Anchorage Daily News. Six Anthropic employees gave 372,000 of it.
Matt Heilala gave his own campaign more than 1.4 million, more than those six combined. Kreiss-Tomkins says most of his national donors have one agenda, whether he can win.
The money is compelled by law. The AI answers are not.
Disclosure, this deck was built with a Claude model made by Anthropic, those six donors' employer.
Inside, five hauls at one scale, four candidates who skipped a June AI survey, and six blanks for your candidate.
Before August 18, would you vote for a candidate who left June's AI questions blank?
Slide by slide
EVERY FIGURE LINKS TO THE DOCUMENT IT WAS VERIFIED AGAINST
Alaska governor 2026, 24 days to the primary
Cut to the dollar Ruled, never cut Campaign finance reports, week of July 20 2026
What the law required
Six people at one AI company, about a fifth of the biggest haul in the field. This deck runs on a model built by Anthropic. Full disclosure, slide 09. 1.8 M since February Six Anthropic employees About a fifth In state share, not disclosed Largest single gift Soldotna to Berkeley The majority came from Lower 48 donors, per Anchorage Daily News. No in state sp
What he says he would do
"I worry the AI industry has downplayed the risks posed to the public." Candidate survey, Northern Journal, June 2026. Background, outside the 10 day wi The record stops here On data centers he told the Anchorage Daily News that until Alaska has "a proces
The same record, the same depth
"Most of our national donors, I think, actually, their only agenda is, 'can you Kreiss-Tomkins to the Anchorage Daily News, July 2026 No wrongdoing is alleged in this reporting Kreiss-Tomkins 1.8 M Heilala 1.6 M, 1.4 M his own Begich 1.1 M Taylor 1.0 M Heilala reported nearly 1.6 million dollars, more than 1.4 million of it his own
What is already in motion
About 4,700 acres at three Alaska bases, offered for AI data centers. Background, federal solicitation Aug 18 primary per news reporting, not the Division of Elections Offers were due June 29 2026. No award has been announced. The next governor inh
Alaska requires the money on the record. It does not require the policy.
Compelled by law Every number in this deck exists because a law required it. Nothing required any
Named answers and named blanks
Four candidates did not answer. Two raised about a million each. Not a count of the field. The named answers and non answers in one June 2026 sur Background, Northern Journal, June 2026 1.0 M on file 940,000 on file Gilbert, refuses AI outright DeVries, used AI to answer Others did answer, and two of those answers are shown. Not answering a reporter
Six AI rules one candidate has proposed. Six blanks for yours.
On the record Liability for harms A deepfake ban AI disclosed in political ads An AI fraud crackdown Children protected from AI A human behind state decisions Source, Alaska Public Media, July 24 2026 These six are one candidate's stated positions, not law. Ask any of the 17 candi
Who is telling you this.
One article by one reporter, published July 23 2026 by the Anchorage Daily News This deck was made with a Claude model built by Anthropic. Six Anthropic employe This disclosure also rides in the first comment.
Save slide 08. Take it to a candidate before August 18.
Sources in comments
What we verified
30 CLAIMS, EACH RE-FETCHED FROM ITS SOURCE BEFORE THIS DECK SHIPPED
Offers on the Air Force AI data center lease solicitation were due June 29, 2026 after the original May 29 deadline was extended, and no award is reflected in the federal opportunity record.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has brought in 1.8 million dollars since entering Alaska's governor race in February 2026.
Treg Taylor reported 1 million dollars in fundraising and Adam Crum reported raising nearly 940,000 dollars.
Kreiss-Tomkins said Alaska should have a process and a policy on data centers and that until it does, nothing should happen.
Kreiss-Tomkins wants Alaska to hold AI companies liable for harms caused by their products, ban deepfakes, require the disclosure of AI in political ads, crack down on AI enabled fraud, implement protections for children against AI content, and require a human behind state decisions.
Kreiss-Tomkins said he is a huge supporter of campaign finance reform because he does not think fundraising should have the role that it does, but that in the system we have, it is important.
Kreiss-Tomkins said most of his national donors have only one agenda, which is whether he can win.
Kreiss-Tomkins said that almost universally, if donors think someone can win, then national interest starts to appear.
Alaska's statewide primary election is August 18, 2026.
No other candidate in the race had reported spending over 650,000 dollars at the time of the filings.
No allegation of unlawful or improper contributions is reported in this coverage.
In a June 2026 candidate survey, Kreiss-Tomkins wrote that at the end of the day it has to be people, not algorithms, making the decisions that shape our lives.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is among the 17 candidates in Alaska's governor race.
In the same survey Kreiss-Tomkins wrote that Alaskans' personal information belongs to Alaskans alone and should not be fed into third party systems without consent.
In the same survey Kreiss-Tomkins wrote that Alaska's power and water are not a giveaway and that no Alaskan should watch their electric bill climb to subsidize a server farm.
In the same survey Kreiss-Tomkins wrote that he worries the AI industry has downplayed the risks posed to the public and that the federal government has been totally flat footed.
Republican candidate Michael Gilbert answered the survey by saying he will not use any AI in his administration.
Mat-Su borough mayor Edna DeVries ended her survey answer on AI by disclosing that she used AI to write it.
Republican candidate Shelley Hughes says she authored the first AI legislation in Alaska a few years ago.
Republican candidate Lesil McGuire said any algorithmic decision affecting Alaskans must have an explainable, human appealable path, and that every public facing AI output must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified state employee before release.
Independent candidate Bill Walker said manufactured ideas cannot substitute genuine, dynamic thought or input from Alaskans.
Republicans Bernadette Wilson, Treg Taylor and Adam Crum and independent Meda DeWitt did not respond to the survey's questions despite multiple requests.
The Air Force issued a request for lease proposals making about 4,700 acres at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station available for AI data center development.
Kreiss-Tomkins reported the largest haul in the field, ahead of Matt Heilala at nearly 1.6 million dollars and Tom Begich at 1.1 million dollars.
Six employees of Anthropic, a California based artificial intelligence company, collectively gave Kreiss-Tomkins 372,000 dollars.
The campaign's largest single contribution came from an Anthropic employee named Drake Thomas, who gave 100,000 dollars.
Drake Thomas grew up in Soldotna and now lives in Berkeley, California.
The majority of Kreiss-Tomkins's funding came from wealthy donors in the Lower 48, per Anchorage Daily News reporting.
Matt Heilala reported a total haul of nearly 1.6 million dollars, with more than 1.4 million dollars of it from himself.
Tom Begich reported a total haul of 1.1 million dollars.
Sources
Sources for today's deck, Alaska.Ai No. 17. Disclosure first. This deck was produced by a routine running on a Claude model built by Anthropic, and six Anthropic employees are the donors at the center of this story. No source reports any donor's motive, no source reports any involvement by Anthropic the company, this deck asserts no causation, and no wrongdoing has been alleged in this reporting. Every figure below is from reporting you can read yourself. A note on sourcing. The fundraising figures come from ONE article by ONE reporter, published by the Anchorage Daily News on July 23 2026 and republished by Alaska Public Media on July 24. That is one reporting source, not two independent ones. 1. Anchorage Daily News, July 23 2026, Iris Samuels, on the 1.8 million dollar haul, the 372,000 dollars from six Anthropic employees, the 100,000 dollar largest single gift, and Matt Heilala's 1.4 million dollars of his own money https://www.adn.com/politics/2026/07/23/democrat-in-alaskas-governor-race-reports-18-million-fundraising-haul-driven-by-californians/ 2. Alaska Public Media, July 24 2026, the republication carrying the six named AI regulations and the "can you win" quote https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-07-24/democrat-in-alaskas-governor-race-reports-1-8-million-fundraising-haul-driven-by-californians 3. Northern Journal with the Anchorage Press, June 25 2026, Nathaniel Herz, the candidate AI survey behind slides 03, 07 and 08, labeled background throughout the deck https://www.northernjournal.com/alaska-governors-race-survey-ai-policy-and-news-sources/ 4. Air and Space Forces Magazine, April 11 2026, on the 4,700 acres offered at JBER, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station https://www.airandspaceforces.com/usaf-land-ai-data-centers-three-alaska-bases/ 5. The federal solicitation record for AFCEC-26-R-0006, showing offers due June 29 2026 and no award recorded https://www.highergov.com/contract-opportunity/rflp-artificial-intelligence-ai-data-center-deve-afcec-26-r-0006-o-db695/