2014 Alaska gubernatorial election

The 2014 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Alaska, concurrently with the election of Alaska's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Republican Governor Sean Parnell ran for re-election to a second full term in office, but incumbent lieutenant governor Mead Treadwell 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 Dan Sullivan. The Democrats nominated businessman and former executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Byron Mallott, whose running mate was State Senator Hollis French. Also running as an independent was former Republican mayor of Valdez Bill Walker, whose running mate was Craig Fleener, the former deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

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, Governing, The Rothenberg Political Report, 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'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. .

Declared

 * Gerald L. "Tap" Heikes, minister, candidate for governor in 2006 and 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008
 * Russ Millette, former chairman-elect of the Alaska Republican Party
 * Sean Parnell, incumbent governor
 * Brad Snowden, candidate for governor in 2002

Withdrew

 * Bill Walker, former mayor of Valdez and candidate for governor in 2010 (ran as an independent)

Declared

 * Dan Sullivan, Mayor of Anchorage
 * Kelly Wolf, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assemblyman and former state representative

Withdrew

 * Lesil McGuire, state senator

Democratic–Libertarian–Independence primary
Candidates from the Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party appear on the same ballot, with the highest-placed candidate from each party receiving that party's nomination.

Declared

 * Byron Mallott, businessman, former mayor of Juneau, former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and former executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund
 * 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, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006, for Congress in 2008 and governor in 2010
 * Les Gara, state representative
 * Scott McAdams, former mayor of Sitka and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010
 * Bill Wielechowski, state senator

Declared

 * Carolyn Clift, treasurer of the Alaska Libertarian Party

Declared

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

Declared

 * Andrew C. Lee, gold miner

Constitution Party

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

Independent

 * Bill Walker, former mayor of Valdez and Republican candidate for governor in 2010
 * Running mate: Byron Mallott, businessman, former mayor of Juneau, former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and former executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund
 * Former running mate: Craig Fleener, former deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

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

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

Polling

 * * Internal poll for Bill Walker campaign

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Republican to Independent

 * Denali Borough (largest city: Healy)
 * Fairbanks North Star (largest city: Fairbanks)
 * Petersburg
 * Valdez–Cordova Census Area (largest city: Valdez)
 * Aleutians West Census Area (largest city: Unalaska)
 * Anchorage
 * Bethel Census Area (largest city: Bethel)
 * Kusilvak Census Area (largest city: Hooper Bay)
 * Haines Borough (largest census-designated place: Haines)
 * Kodiak Island (largest city: Kodiak Island)
 * Lake & Peninsula Borough (largest city: Newhalen)
 * North Slope Borough (largest city: Utqiaġvik)
 * Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area (largest city: Craig)
 * Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area (largest city: Fort Yukon)
 * Juneau

Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Democratic to Independent

 * Nome Census Area (largest city: Nome)
 * Dilingham Census Area (largest city: Dilingham)
 * Northwest Arctic Borough (largest city: Kotzebue)
 * Sitka
 * Skagway
 * Hoonah–Angoon Census Area (largest town: Hoonah)
 * Yakutat