A deceptive fundraising email sent from Republican gubernatorial candidate 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.
Bernadette is 100% correct. Deceptive tactics are the norm for most every campaign.
Wonder where we would be as a State (and country) if we voted for the few candidates that refuse to deploy deception as a campaign strategy?
I know, just wishful thinking.
Their Republican status, not statues. No proofreading?
I get this kind of stuff all the time from all candidates, that’s why you have to look at the URL to find out who sent it. However, Ron just revealed what he thinks about Bernadette. Wrong move….
Why are you hammering on a true conservative, Jeff?
Oh no! Has my file been locked? How will I do my nails??
he’s hammering because there’s a fiction out there that R’s are just one big happy family. Hmmm, huber, probably a taylor operative, new afp alaska head, formly wilson’s gig, whose chair is alaska’s chief govt. grifter Craig campbell. happy family indeed.
I like how Wilson’s shriek claims:
How encouraging!
Encouraging for one lusting for power, but the result will end up consuming them completely.
?
Oh don’t bother, I’m comfortable not knowing.
“…….Oh don’t bother, I’m comfortable not knowing………”
Of course you are. We knew that:
“………To each his suff’rings: all are men,
Condemn’d alike to groan,
The tender for another’s pain;
Th’ unfeeling for his own.
Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
‘Tis folly to be wise………
Bernadette Wilson is being deceptive ? Bwahahahaha, I’m shocked ! No, really, I am !
Wilson’s defense was shameful — she brushed off deception as “normal” politics instead of owning it. And Carmela Warfield’s silence is just as bad. Leadership means standing for truth, not hiding from it. Alaska Republicans deserve integrity, not excuses.
That deceptive fundraising email from Bernadette Wilson certainly stirred controversy, using alarming language to pressure recipients into donating isn’t a tactic that sits well with many, and it’s easy to see why Alaska GOP officials reacted strongly. It’s a reminder to always scrutinize emails carefully, especially when they use fear or urgency to push political or financial actions.
On a lighter note, if you want a way to channel attention and energy into something absurdly fun instead of stressful emails, Brainrot Clicker is perfect.