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Blueprint publishes survey of Alaska gubernatorial candidates on communications, media and transpare

GovernmentCommunityPress Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 11, 2026 

Blueprint publishes survey of Alaska gubernatorial candidates on communications, media and transparency practices

ANCHORAGE - Blueprint, the public affairs division of Thompson & Co., today published the results of its first gubernatorial candidate communications survey, a nine-part questionnaire that asked Alaska's leading 2026 gubernatorial candidates to detail how they would communicate with the press and the public if elected.
The survey went to candidates whose campaigns have demonstrated significant organizational capacity, fundraising and public support. Every candidate who received it answered the same set of questions covering press access, crisis communications, social media practice, rural and language accessibility, public records requests and staffing plans for a governor's communications office.

Nine candidates submitted full responses: Tom Begich, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Adam Crum, Lesil McGuire, Bill Walker, Click Bishop, Shelley Hughes, Edna DeVries and Matt  Heilala.

“This survey gives voters a side-by-side look at each candidate's own words on transparency, media access and public engagement,” said Sarah Erkmann Ward, APR, president of Blueprint. “We built it because that information did not exist anywhere in one place and we believed such insight would prove valuable to Alaskans.”

The survey asked candidates how they view the role of the press in a healthy democracy, how often they would hold open press conferences, and what circumstances, if any, would lead them to limit media access. It also asked how each candidate would reach reporters and residents in rural Alaska and in language communities beyond what state and federal law require, which social media platforms their administration would maintain, whether AI-generated content would appear on official accounts, and how many communications staff they expect to hire and in what roles.

Blueprint developed the survey using its years of experience advising Alaska public officials, campaigns and organizations on communications strategy.

Full responses from each candidate, including downloadable PDFs, are available at thompsonpr.com/2026-gubernatorial-candidate-survey.
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About Thompson & Co. Public Relations and Blueprint
Blueprint is the public affairs division of Thompson & Co. T&C is a woman-owned, Alaska-based agency. While headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, its team expands across the country with employees in Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Delaware and South Carolina. The agency serves clients in a wide range of industries from travel and tourism to technology, resource development, healthcare, education, and more, with services ranging from earned media, public affairs, advocacy, special events and crisis communications to digital marketing, content creation and influencer collaboration. Recognized for its creativity and drive, the agency has won several national awards for its innovative public relations campaigns. It was named to Inc.’s 2026 Best Workplaces List, PR News’ top 20 places to work in 2020 and recognized as one of America’s Best PR Firms by Forbes.

Blueprint publishes survey of Alaska ...

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