The 2014 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the

governor 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 ...

and lieutenant governor of

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. ...

, concurrently with the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

of Alaska's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor Sean Parnell ran for re-election to a second full term in office, but incumbent lieutenant governor

Mead Treadwell Louis Mead Treadwell II (born March 21, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 11th lieutenant governor of Alaska from 2010 to 2014. Treadwell also served as chair of the United States Arctic Research Commission from 2 ...

instead chose to run for the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on August 19, 2014, to determine party nominees for the office, with separate primaries held for governor and lieutenant governor and the winners running together on the same ticket. Parnell was renominated; his running mate was Anchorage

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Dan Sullivan. The Democrats nominated businessman and former executive director of the

Alaska Permanent Fund The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a constitutionally established permanent fund managed by a state-owned corporation, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC). It was established in Alaska in 1976 by Article 9, Section 15 of the Alaska Stat ...

Byron Mallott Byron Ivar Mallott (April 6, 1943 – May 8, 2020) was an American politician, elder, tribal activist and business executive from the state of Alaska. Mallott was an Alaska Native leader of Tlingit heritage and the leader of the Kwaash Ké K ...

, whose running mate was State Senator Hollis French. Also running as an independent was former Republican mayor of Valdez

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

, whose running mate was Craig Fleener, the former deputy commissioner of the

Alaska Department of Fish and Game The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is a department within the government of Alaska. ADF&G's mission is to protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development in ...

. On September 2, 2014, Walker and Mallott merged their campaigns to appear on the November ballot as a single independent ticket, which the Alaska Democratic Party endorsed. On this ticket, Walker ran for governor with Mallott as his running mate. Both candidates' former running mates withdrew. Parnell was considered vulnerable, as reflected in his low approval ratings. The consensus among ''

The Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

'', ''

Governing Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the gove ...

'', ''

The Rothenberg Political Report Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst. He is best known for his biweekly political newsletter ''The Rothenberg Political Report'', now known as ''Inside Elections''. He was also a regular columnist at ''Roll ...

'', '' Sabato's Crystal Ball'', ''Daily Kos Elections'', and others was that the contest was a tossup. Former Republican governor Sarah Palin, who had praised Parnell as her successor when she resigned in 2009, endorsed Walker and Mallott, taking issue with Parnell's tax cuts for the oil and gas industry. On November 7, Walker and Mallott held a 3,165-vote lead, which on November 11 had grown to 4,004 out of some 244,000 votes cast, or 1.6%. Walker began preparing for a transition but the race remained officially uncalled and Parnell refused to concede. On November 14, after Walker and Mallott extended their lead to 4,634 votes, multiple media outlets called the race. Parnell conceded the following day. His loss – coupled with Democrat

Mark Begich Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously ser ...

's defeat in the U.S. Senate election – marked just the fifth time in the last 50 years in which an incumbent governor and senator from different political parties were defeated in the same state in the same election cycle.

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

=Declared

= * Gerald L. "Tap" Heikes, minister, candidate for governor in 2006 and 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Russ Millette, former chairman-elect of the Alaska Republican Party * Sean Parnell, incumbent governor * Brad Snowden, candidate for governor in 2002

=Withdrew

= *

, former mayor of Valdez and candidate for governor in 2010 (ran as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

)

Polling

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

=Declared

= * Dan Sullivan, Mayor of Anchorage *

Kelly Wolf Kelly J. Wolf (born August 3, 1961) is an American politician from the state of Alaska. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 2003 until 2005. Biography Wolf was born in 1961 in Longview, Washington, moving to Alaska in 1975, grad ...

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan trib ...

Borough Assemblyman and former state representative

=Withdrew

= * Lesil McGuire, state senator

Results

Democratic–Libertarian–Independence primary

Candidates from the

Alaska Democratic Party The Alaska Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage. It is one of two major parties in Alaska, alongside the Alaska Republican Party. The Democratic Party holds Alaska's at-large congres ...

Alaska Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party of Alaska is the affiliate of the Libertarian Party (LP) in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage. It is the third-largest active party in Alaska and has the highest percentage of registered Libertarians of any state. Sinc ...

and

Alaskan Independence Party The Alaskan Independence Party (AKIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party that advocates an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also advocates positions similar to those ...

appear on the same ballot, with the highest-placed candidate from each party receiving that party's nomination.

Governor

Democratic candidates

=Declared

= *

, businessman, former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

, former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and former executive director of the

* Phil Stoddard, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1984 and candidate for governor in 1986

=Withdrew

= * Hollis French, state senator and candidate for governor in 2010 (running for Lieutenant Governor)

=Declined

= * Ethan Berkowitz, former Minority Leader of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006, for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and governor in 2010 *

Les Gara Leslie S. Gara (born February 6, 1963) is a Democratic former member of the Alaska House of Representatives, having represented the 23rd district from 2003 to 2019. Gara is also a former assistant attorney general and part owner of a local resta ...

, state representative * Scott McAdams, former mayor of

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 * Bill Wielechowski, state senator

Libertarian candidates

=Declared

= * Carolyn Clift, treasurer of the Alaska Libertarian Party

Results

Lieutenant governor

Democratic candidates

=Declared

= * Hollis French, state senator and candidate for governor in 2010 * Bob Williams, teacher

Libertarian candidates

=Declared

= * Andrew C. Lee, gold miner

Results

Others

Constitution Party

* J. R. Myers, founder and chairman of the Alaska Constitution Party :*Running mate: Maria Rensel

Independent

, former mayor of Valdez and Republican candidate for governor in 2010 :*Running mate:

, businessman, former

, former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and former executive director of the

:*Former running mate: Craig Fleener, former deputy commissioner of the

General election

Campaign

Parnell drew criticism during his re-election campaign over his support of billions in tax reductions for the

petrochemical industry The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector. Comp ...

as well an exploding scandal featuring five years of alleged cover ups with regard to rampant sexual abuse, cronyism, corruption and whistleblower suppression, in the

Alaska National Guard The Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs manages military and veterans affairs for the U.S. state of Alaska. It comprises a number of subdepartments, including the Alaska National Guard, Veterans Affairs, the Division of Homeland Sec ...

. In October 2014, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin endorsed Walker and Mallott. The endorsement was prompted by Parnell's oil and gas industry tax cuts, which dismantled her administration's "Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share" (ACES) plan. She had previously supported a referendum to repeal the tax cuts, which was narrowly defeated in August 2014. Walker and Mallott made the repeal of the tax cuts a centerpiece of their campaign.

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 1, 2014 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Polling

* * Internal poll for Bill Walker campaign

Results

References

Gubernatorial 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 ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

=Declared

=Withdrew

Polling

Results

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

=Declared

=Withdrew

Results

Democratic–Libertarian–Independence primary

Governor

Democratic candidates

=Declared

=Withdrew

=Declined

Libertarian candidates

=Declared

Results

Lieutenant governor

Democratic candidates

=Declared

Libertarian candidates

=Declared

Results

Others

Constitution Party

Independent

General election

Campaign

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links