Saturday, November 15, 2014

Oopsie. Sarah Palin takes out incumbent Republican in Alaska, Independent Bill Walker elected Alaska's new Governor defeating Republican Gov. and former oil lobbyist Sean Parnell-Politico

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10/22/14, Sarah Palin hosted an endorsement party for Republican turned Independent candidate Walker at her Wasilla home.

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11/14/14, "Independent Bill Walker wins Alaska governor’s race," Politico, Patrick Temple-West

"Independent Bill Walker has won the Alaska governor’s race, defeating incumbent Republican Sean Parnell, according to The Associated Press.

Parnell faced off against Walker, a former the Republican turned independent, in what looked to be a cakewalk for Parnell but turned into a dogfight for the incumbent.

The race was too close to call on election night. This week, thousands of absentee ballots and questioned ballots were counted, according to the Associated Press.

In an unusual twist even for the obscure politics of the Last Frontier State, Walker teamed up with Democrats to create a united front against Parnell.

Walker formed a fusion ticket with Byron Mallott, who had been the Democratic gubernatorial nominee but agreed to run as Walker’s lieutenant governor. The Democratic state committee voted to allow Walker to switch drop his party affiliation, and a judge upheld the partnership.

The bipartisan combo won the backing tea-party darling and former Republican vice-presidential contender Sarah Palin.

Palin accused Parnell, her ex-running mate and a former oil lobbyist, of “caving” to Big Oil. She’s likened his policies to a time when elected Alaskan officials were indicted on corruption charges and accused of taking payoffs from oil interests."

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10/22/14, "Sarah Palin endorses Walker-Mallott ticket," Alaska Daily News, Alex DeMarban

"Former Gov. Sarah Palin has endorsed gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker.

The endorsement came at a reception hosted by Palin Tuesday night in which she told about 100 guests that she supports Walker and his running mate, Byron Mallott, because she trusts them to responsibly develop Alaska’s resources for the maximum benefit of the state’s residents, said a release from the Walker-Mallott campaign.

"Last night my family, along with Byron and Toni Mallott, and our campaign staff attended a reception hosted by Todd and Sarah Palin at their lakeside property in Wasilla,” said Walker in a press release sent Wednesday.

The statement noted that Palin, a Wasilla mayor before she became governor in 2006, joined  former Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright and new Wasilla mayor Bert Cottle in endorsing Walker at the event, the release said. 

Gov. Sean Parnell, hoping to win a second full term, announced new endorsements Tuesday, including from North Slope Borough Mayor Charlotte Brower, elder Bill Williams of Saxman and former Sealaska director Carlton Smith.  

None carry Palin’s political fame, but her influence in Alaska is unclear. Palin quit partway through her term as governor in 2009, leaving Parnell in charge and angering many Alaskans for leaving office early.

After staying out of state politics for years, Palin endorsed Ballot Measure 1 this summer, but the referendum -- to repeal Parnell’s oil tax rewrite -- failed. "

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4/14/13, "Legislature Approves Tax Cut for Oil Companies," alaskapublic.org, Alexandra Gutierrez, APRN

"After years of fighting for it, Gov. Sean Parnell has gotten his major legislative priority through: a reduction of the state’s oil tax rate."...


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