Bill Walker, Governor of Alaska, Suspends Campaign Amid Sinking Polls

Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska, a political independent who has been fighting an uphill battle for a second term, suspended his campaign Friday and announced he was throwing his support behind his Democratic challenger. With only a few weeks before the election, the announcement upended the race, which until now had three candidates.

“I believe we cannot win a three-way race,” said Walker, a former Republican who left his party to win election as an independent in 2014. Walker said he had concluded that former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat, “has a better chance of running a competitive race” against their Republican opponent, Mike J. Dunleavy, a well-financed Republican former state senator.

“Alaskans deserve a choice other than Mike Dunleavy," Walker said. He urged his followers to vote for Begich even though his own name will still be on the ballot.

The announcement, which came as a shock to many, added chaos to a race in a pivotal time for the state. Alaska has struggled for years with a financial crisis in the capital, Juneau, and the next governor will face significant challenges. A recession has erased thousands of jobs as the oil industry, crucial to the economy, has slumped. Rising crime and homelessness have become major issues especially in Anchorage, the state’s largest city.

Even before Walker’s announcement, his campaign was in disarray after the sudden resignation this week of the lieutenant governor, Byron Mallott, who left office after making unspecified comments that Walker described as “inappropriate.”

From the start, Walker, 67, was not a conventional governor. As an independent, he had no party to back him in the Legislature, and over time he had irked some of his former allies. Though Walker had been a Republican, he served alongside a Democrat, Mallott. Walker also made many enemies among Republicans by defeating Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican who had been seeking re-election in 2014.

Complicating matters, control in Juneau already was split. Republicans dominate the state Senate, but a coalition led by Democrats controls the House of Representatives.

Walker’s term also saw struggles over taxes and a recession in Alaska. Most of Alaska’s government is supported by taxes paid by the oil companies, and falling revenue has strained the budget. Walker cut spending but also proposed fees and taxes, including the restoration of a personal income tax in Alaska; the Legislature rejected that notion.

As governor, Walker was careful not to burn bridges with Republicans in trying to get legislation passed. But in his statement to Alaskans on Friday, he was far less conciliatory. In a point-by-point analysis of Dunleavy’s record and statements on campaign trail, Walker made it clear that he viewed Dunleavy as the wrong choice for the state on everything from taxes to health care.

“On balance, it is my belief that despite my many differences with Mark Begich, his stance on the important issues I have listed above more closely align with my priorities for Alaska,” Walker said.

Begich, a former mayor of Anchorage, served one term in the U.S. Senate, and was narrowly defeated in 2014 — the same year Walker won office as governor — by Dan Sullivan, a Republican and the former state attorney general. Begich entered the race for governor in June of this year, complicating Walker’s re-election plans from the beginning. Begich’s candidacy raised hopes by Republicans that Democratic-leaning voters would be split between Begich and Walker, opening a path to victory for Dunleavy.

Uncertain now was how voters might respond to Walker’s departure. Would Republicans or independents who favored Walker turn to the Democrat? Would some people see Walker’s name on the ballot and vote for him even though he has said not to?

Early voting begins on Monday.