The August 16 open primary is fast approaching. There are ten gubernatorial tickets. Unlike the old voting system with separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, under the new system candidates for governor choose their running mate. In the new open primary the top-four finishers advance to a ranked choice general election in November.

We invited the top-five tickets to sit down in studio to discuss their campaigns and the issues facing Alaska. The other five tickets have reported little to no fundraising activity. You can watch the interviews below.

Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) and his running mate Nancy Dahlstrom

Independent Bill Walker and his running mate Heidi Drygas

Republican Christopher Kurka and his running mate Paul Hueper

Democrat Les Gara and his running mate Jessica Cook

Republican Charlie Pierce and his running mate Edie Grunwald

Invited but chose not to participate.