The 1990 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, for the open seat of

Governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. In 1989, incumbent Governor

Steve Cowper Stephen Cambreleng Cowper (born August 21, 1938) is an American Democratic politician who was the sixth governor of Alaska from 1986–90. He was governor during the 1989 ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill. Cowper is the CEO of Steve Cowper & Associa ...

, a Democrat, had announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term. In a rare third-party win in American politics, former Republican Governor

Wally Hickel Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1 ...

, running on the ticket of the Alaskan Independence Party, defeated Democratic candidate Tony Knowles and Republican candidate

Arliss Sturgulewski Jane Arliss Sturgulewski (née Wright; September 27, 1927 – April 7, 2022) was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. In a political career in which she started appearing in the spotlight in 1975, she ...

Candidates

Democratic Party

The major Democratic candidates were Tony Knowles, former

mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964 ...

(from 1981 to 1987) and future governor (from 1994 to 2002), and incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Stephen McAlpine Stephen Alan "Steve" McAlpine (born May 23, 1949) is an American lawyer and politician. McAlpine served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1982 until 1990. Early life Stephen Alan McAlpine was born in Yakima, Washington on May 23, ...

, who had served since 1982. Knowles defeated McAlpine in the Democratic primary.

Republican Party

In the Republican primary,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

, who was also the Republican nominee in 1986, defeated Jim Campbell, Rick Halford and Don Wright.

Alaskan Independence Party

The initial Alaskan Independence Party candidate was

John Lindauer John Howard Lindauer II (born November 20, 1937) is an American economist who served as chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1976 to 1978 then was Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs. He was the Republican Party can ...

, who won the primary. However, many conservative Republicans, dissatisfied with Sturgulewski's positions on social issues such as abortion, persuaded former Republican Governor

to run on the Alaskan Independence ticket. The party pushed Lindauer aside to make way for Hickel and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Jack Coghill.

Others

Environmentalist and homeless rights activist Michael O'Callaghan ran as the candidate of The Political Party.

Results

Former Governor Wally Hickel defeated Knowles, Sturgulewski, and other minor candidates to return to the governor's office.

References

{{Notable third party performances in United States elections

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...