Alaska's Independent Governor Suspends Re-election Bid

[Norbert]

Source: New York Times

JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker suspended his re-election bid Friday, three days after the sudden resignation of his lieutenant governor over what Walker described as an inappropriate overture toward a woman.

Walker's announcement, made during the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage, was met with gasps.

Walker, the only independent governor in the country, took swipes at Republican rival Mike Dunleavy and did not explicitly endorse Democrat Mark Begich. But he said Begich's stand on important issues more closely aligned with Walker's priorities.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/10/19/us/ap-us-election-2018-governor-alaska.html

[saidsimplesimon]

1. Not sure

an explicit endorsement from Walker is helpful for Begich.

[cstanleytech]

3. For him to suspend his campaign to me is a signal that he probably got caught up in

some way with whatever the lieutenant governor was involved in thus a full on out endorsement by him might have actually been turned against Begich so it might be a good thing that he did not do that.

[brooklynite]

2. Tom Perez had given me advance notice of this

[MrsCoffee]

4. He did endorse Mark Begich.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/19/politics/bill-walker-reelection-bid/index.html

Walker, an independent, endorsed Democratic nominee Mark Begich, a former US senator, citing the way Begich's priorities "more closely align" with his than do those of Republican nominee Michael Dunleavy.

"This week I have talked to many Alaskans to determine whether I or Mark Begich had a better chance of running a competitive race against Mike Dunleavy. The determination was made that, at this point, Begich has the better odds," Walker wrote.

"On balance, it is my belief that despite my many differences with Mark Begich, his stance on the important issues ... more closely align with my priorities for Alaska," he later added.