Dave
Bronson / Josh Church

Bronson told the Anchorage Daily News 'We just failed as a party,' criticizing the Alaska Republican Party's role in the race. He also widened his attacks to include Gov. Mike Dunleavy, former President Trump, and the GOP party chair. Reporting noted that Dunleavy, the Alaska Republican Party Central Committee, and Trump had not endorsed any candidate in the governor's race, and the party had not directed funds to the three Republican campaigns.

Following the October 8 debate, Bronson told the Anchorage Daily News that Wilson was 'emotionally unfit to be in office' and said Republican leaders had failed to vet candidates. Wilson's campaign chair Craig Campbell characterized Bronson's remarks as 'desperate' and pointed to Bronson's fundraising and polling position.

At the October 8 'Debate for the State,' Bronson and Taylor said they would rank one another second and Wilson third. The two had recorded a joint video urging supporters to rank Republican candidates. Bronson said the post-primary slogan was 'Rank 1 2 3 or get JKT.' He criticized Wilson's experience and personal finances at the debate, and argued for cooperation beyond Republican voters while supporting repeal of ranked-choice voting.

The Republican Governors Association transferred $1.6 million to Kodiak PAC, an independent group supporting Republican candidates in Alaska. Bronson's campaign said it hoped the money would help Republicans in a ranked-choice scenario. The contribution was to an independent group and not a direct campaign contribution; independent groups cannot coordinate directly with candidates.

Campaign finance reports showed Bronson raised under $60,000 in the latest reporting period, the least among the four gubernatorial candidates. Democrat Kreiss-Tomkins had raised more than the three Republicans combined. Bronson's campaign manager said the campaign had deliberately chosen not to focus on fundraising.

The News From The States report on the Alaska Department of Law's review of candidate financial disclosures, including Bronson's and Church's filings, was updated on October 5. Bronson maintained the issues were technical or factual rather than reflecting intentional noncompliance.

A New York Times/Siena poll of 504 likely voters (conducted September 24–October 1, published October 3–4) showed first-choice results of Kreiss-Tomkins 40%, Wilson 20%, Bronson 15%, and Taylor 11%. In the poll's ranked-choice simulation, Taylor was eliminated first, then Bronson; the final round had Kreiss-Tomkins at 52% and Wilson at 48%. Margin of error was ±5.1 percentage points.

An AARP Alaska poll conducted September 8–11 and released September 17 showed Kreiss-Tomkins at 40%, Wilson at 20%, Bronson at 14%, and Taylor at 7% in initial preferences among voters overall. A ranked-choice simulation favored Kreiss-Tomkins 55%–45% over Wilson in the final round.

The Alaska Department of Law identified possible omissions in Bronson's financial disclosure, including his role as manager of Piper LLC and director of two organizations. It also noted that running mate Josh Church had not listed certain interests, including a homeowners-association directorship and property interests. Bronson disputed the Church-related findings, saying Church had not served on that board and that the property information was an error. Bronson stated: 'Josh and I take our financial disclosure obligations seriously and have made every effort to comply with APOC's POFD requirements.' The report does not establish intentional wrongdoing.

Bronson participated in a fisheries-focused debate with the other governor candidates in Kodiak. Coverage of this event later fed into reporting on a state review of candidate financial disclosures.

Dave Bronson qualified for the general election alongside Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Treg Taylor and Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins after the top-four primary. All four received at least 5% of the primary vote and qualified for the October debate.