Bishop taps Greta Schuerch, adding North Slope ties to governor ticket

Click Bishop chose Greta Schuerch as his running mate, adding a familiar Northwest Alaska name to a governor’s ticket that now reaches directly into the region’s political geography. Schuerch is from Kiana, serves as senior advisor for government and external affairs for Teck Alaska, and was elected to the NANA Regional Corporation board in 2025.

The pick matters beyond campaign optics because the lieutenant governor is not a ceremonial role in Alaska. The governor and lieutenant governor run on a single ticket in both the primary and general election, and the lieutenant governor succeeds the governor if the office becomes vacant. In a state where executive turnover can quickly reshape policy, that gives Schuerch a path to real authority if Bishop wins. Alaska’s filing deadline is June 1, the primary is Aug. 18, and the top four vote-getters will move on to the Nov. 3 general election.

For North Slope and Northwest Alaska readers, Schuerch brings credentials that touch the region’s most persistent issues. She ran in 2012 for Alaska House District 40, which covered the North Slope and Northwest Arctic, and lost that Democratic primary on Aug. 28, 2012. Her selection also ties the ticket to NANA Regional Corporation, which says Schuerch is one of its at-large directors and now serves as second vice chair. NANA’s board includes two shareholder directors from each regional community except Kotzebue, which has one seat, plus two at-large seats and an elder advisor, and directors serve three-year terms.

Bishop unveiled Schuerch at a campaign event at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in Fairbanks. Alaska Public Media reported that Bishop said he is 68 and nearing the twilight of a long political career, a reminder that the race is not only about a single campaign but also about who could hold statewide executive power next. KTOO and Alaska Beacon reported that Bishop is one of 18 candidates for governor and that Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited.

Schuerch’s policy pitch points straight at the concerns that routinely shape life in the North Slope Borough: high energy costs, a state budget deficit, schools, and the strain between state decisions and local priorities. Those issues also sit at the center of relations between Juneau, borough government, rural shareholders, and the industrial projects that shape local revenue and daily life. NANA says it represents more than 15,500 Iñupiat shareholders, giving Schuerch a platform rooted in rural and Native governance as well as corporate affairs.

The practical test is simple: whether Schuerch gives Bishop a ticket that can translate North Slope and Northwest Alaska concerns into real leverage, or only a geographic brand. In a race where the state’s next lieutenant governor could become governor, that distinction will matter long after the campaign stops.