Hilcorp Boss Backs Wilson With $10,000

Jeffery Hildebrand, the founder and chairman of Hilcorp Energy, donated $10,000 to Bernadette Wilson’s campaign for governor. The contribution occurred in the days before Election Day, marking the first financial support from the Texas billionaire to any candidate in the 2026 state elections.

The donation is part of a total of nearly $85,000 that Wilson has raised during the final week of campaigning. Voting concludes on Tuesday, and early voting is already underway, with more than 90,000 Alaskans having cast their ballots.

Wilson’s fundraising activity stands in contrast to her Republican rivals in the governor’s race. Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson raised roughly $500 in the same final week period. Former Attorney General Treg Taylor did not report any new contributions during that timeframe.

All three Republican candidates, including Wilson, have opposed changing Alaska’s tax structure. They specifically resisted a proposal that state lawmakers considered multiple times this year. The proposal sought to apply Alaska’s corporate income tax to oil and gas companies like Hilcorp, entities that do not currently pay that tax.

The lone Democrat in the race, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, holds the opposing view. He argues that new revenue measures are necessary to balance the state’s structural deficit. Kreiss-Tomkins states that expanding the corporate income tax would stabilize state revenue, which currently depends on fluctuating global oil prices.

Kreiss-Tomkins maintains a significant lead in fundraising and endorsements. He finished first in the August primary, earning 22.5% of the vote in a field of 17 candidates. In the final week before the election, he raised more than $400,000. This total far exceeds the combined fundraising of his three Republican opponents.

Hilcorp has long opposed applying the state’s corporate income tax to oil and gas companies structured as S corporations or limited liability companies. A fiscal impact analysis from a bill proposed in 2025 estimated that such a measure would have netted the state $186 million in fiscal year 2026. The company argues that expanding the tax would impact the financial feasibility of the Alaska LNG megaproject.

Hilcorp contends that added taxes threaten valuable oil and gas production in Alaska. The company notes that gas production is declining in Cook Inlet and that the Railbelt faces a critical natural gas shortage. Hilcorp is expected to be a major supplier of natural gas for the proposed pipeline.

During three consecutive special legislative sessions this summer, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy criticized the inclusion of the corporate income tax provision in tax cut proposals for the LNG project. Dunleavy, who is term-limited, repeatedly opposed the tax expansion during those sessions.

Another major donor to the race is Brendan Duval, CEO of Glenfarne Group. Duval gave $5,000 each to Wilson and Kreiss-Tomkins on the same day last week. Glenfarne officials told the Anchorage Daily News editorial board in September that they are meeting with all four gubernatorial candidates. Becky Windt Pearson, head of Alaska legal and corporate affairs for Glenfarne, stated that the company will be a partner to the next governor in moving the project forward.