A deceptive fundraising email sent from Republican gubernational candiate Bernadette Wilson has sparked ire among some Alaska GOP officials. 

The email, sent out on Monday afternoon, was sent from “GOP Membership Review Team” and came from an “info.mail.votewilsonforgovernor.com.” The URL forwards to her campaign site, https://bernadetteforgovernor.com/.

The Landmine obtained the email from veteran GOP political consultant Art Hackney. 

The email informs recipients that their “Republican status is marked: INACTIVE” and asks them to renew their GOP status. 

It also informs recipients that “Democrats will use it as proof that conservatives are silent and weak heading into 2026. And we will be forced to fight uphill battles with fewer resources. Do you really want that to happen?”

The only mention of Wilson in the body of the email is at the bottom, where the paid for by disclaimer is located. 

All the links in the email go to a WinRed donation page that repeats the message in the email and asks for a donation. At the bottom it says “Bernadette’s fight for Alaska doesn’t stop – and neither should our support. Start a monthly donation today to help fuel her campaign.” The paid for by disclaimer is also included. 

Ron Johnson – a former Alaska Republican Party (ARP) regional representative who served as one of Alaska’s three electors for Donald Trump last year – sent a strongly worded email to ARP Chair Carmella Warfield about Wilson’s fundraising email.

Johnson called the email “VERY deceptive” and requested to have the party’s “legal team review this and I believe we will have grounds to demand a ‘cease and desist’ order, plus a retraction to all of the original recipients of that email.”

He concluded by saying, “We cannot let a rogue campaign hijack the good name of the GOP or the Republican brand. Can you imagine if all 12+ Republican candidates for Governor used this basically immoral and deceptive tactic? Our donor base would be so confused we might never be able to recover our donor base.”

Warfield told the Landmine she has no comment on the email from Johnson or about Wilson’s deceptive fundraising email. 

When asked about the deceptive email, Wilson told the Landmine:

Emails like this go out all the time from different campaigns on all different levels. If I had a dollar for every email I got an email from Donald Trump that said my membership expired, I could self fund this race. We are leading in the race so it makes us the prime target for attacks. But the good thing is it’s preparing us for the attacks from the Democrats next November. 

With eleven Republican candidates already in the field for the open governor’s seat next year, look for many more Republican on Republican attacks as the race heats up.