Alaska - Independent Bill Walker and Democrat Byron Mallott join forces in governor's race

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.adn.com/article/20140901/walker-mallott-join-forces-governors-race

The Alaska Democratic Party approved a plan Monday night under which independent candidate Bill Walker will drop his Republican affiliation and Democratic nominee Byron Mallott will join the independent ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor.

The decision was made in an 89-2 vote of the party's central committee. Participants who were not able to attend in person voted telephonically or by proxy. The pair will run as independents, meaning there will be no Democratic ticket on the gubernatorial ballot for the first time in Alaska history.

Talks between the two candidates began last week, and the eleventh-hour deal was struck in time to meet the state's Tuesday deadline to make changes to the general election ballot.

Mallott will keep his Democratic party affiliation.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Since asshole Sean Parnell probably would have won in a three-way race, and Walker was beating Mallott in the polls, this is probably the best possible outcome. There is a lot of enthusiasm for this ticket, so we'll keep our fingers crossed. Even moving a LITTLE left will be good for my dear state.

[Scootaloo]

1. Not sure what i think of this

Except that I think Alaska has gotten way weirder than when I left.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. I'm not sure what I think of it either,

but the political fact is we must get rid of Parnell, and in a three-way race, he wins. I think there will be a lot of support for this ticket, given that over 60% of Alaska.voters are nondeclared, and Democrats will NEVER vote for Parnell, even if they're disappointed about Mallott being in second place. There is a lot of speculation that Hollis will be appointed to something significant like AG if this ticket wins.

I was not among the enthusiastic supporters of "unity" unlike many of my good progressive friends -- Shannyn Moore, Jeanne Devon, Linda K-B at the Mudflats, to name a few -- but I guess I can live with it if it saves us from four more years of Parnell.