JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Bill Walker dropped his re-election bid shortly after the sudden resignation of his lieutenant governor over what Walker described as an inappropriate overture toward a woman.
Walker’s announcement, made Friday at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage right before he was to participate in a debate, was met with gasps and cries of “No!” from the audience.
“‘Alaska First’ is and cannot be just a campaign slogan,” he said. With less than three weeks until the election, Walker, an independent, said it became clear he could not win a three-way race against Republican former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy and Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich.
Alaskans deserve a competitive race, “and Alaskans deserve a choice other than Mike Dunleavy,” he said.
Walker, a former Republican and the only independent governor in the country, told reporters he doesn’t agree with Begich on a lot of things. But he said Begich would be better for Alaska than Dunleavy.