State Political Profile: Alaska
Governor
Sarah Palin surprised many by trouncing incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in Alaska's Republican primary, but the race won't get any easier against a former two-term governor with a sizable war chest in the general election.
As expected, Tony Knowles cruised to an easy victory in the Democratic primary election on Aug. 22. Knowles, who was Alaska's governor from 1994-2002, wasted little of his cash and resources on the primary, choosing to save up for the general election campaign to come.
On the other hand, Palin, a former Wasilla mayor and mother of four, spent nearly all of her campaign funds on the bruising three-way GOP primary. She also made her past battles against the party's leadership a focus of her campaign, presenting herself as the candidate who would challenge the GOP hierarchy.
The strategy worked, with Palin polling better than 50 percent in the primary, but created doubts about her ability to unite Republican support against the centrist Knowles after a divisive campaign.
Now that she's won, Murkowski and other Republican leaders have pledged to back Palin rather than see Democrat Knowles take back the governor's office.
"I think that they'll back her strongly," said longtime Republican pollster Dave Dittman. "She is a social and fiscal conservative and she fits the party really well."
Murkowski had alienated many of his base supporters over the past four years with painful budget cuts, by appointing his daughter to the U.S. Senate seat he gave up to become governor and purchasing a state jet after being denied funding by the federal government and state Legislature. He also did not announce his re-election plans until just before the June 1 deadline, and by that time, many Republican supporters had already cast their lots with Palin or former state Sen. John Binkley.
As a result, Murkowski took just 19 percent of the votes cast, making him only the second sitting governor in Alaska's short history to be ousted in his own party's primary.
Palin made a name for herself by bucking the party's leaders. She was runner-up in the 2002 Republican primary for lieutenant governor and was seen then as a rising star in the primary. Soon after he became governor, Murkowski appointed her chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation commission.
Within a year, Palin blew the whistle on another commissioner and Murkowski appointee, state GOP chief Randy Ruedrich, for using his AOGCC office to conduct party business and for leaking confidential information to a lobbyist. Ruedrich was fined and resigned his state office, but remained in charge of the party.
Palin also went after another Murkowski appointee, former Attorney General Gregg Renkes, over Renkes' personal financial ties to a company that stood to benefit from an international coal deal Renkes was helping broker. She and Democratic Alaska Rep. Eric Croft filed a complaint with the state's personnel board in 2004, and Renkes resigned a few months later.
Knowles has stepped back into Alaska's political spotlight after failing to unseat Lisa Murkowski from her U.S. Senate seat in 2004. The $5.8 million he spent in that losing campaign has helped keep his name recognition high across the state, and gave him the luxury of being selective in his campaign appearances before easily beating Croft with 69 percent of the votes in the Democratic primary.
Knowles' campaign is centered on constructing a natural gas pipeline to Canada and using the cash it brings to improve education in Alaska. He says the importance decisions the next governor will make is what drew him to the race.
Knowles has not completely discounted Murkowski's fiscal agreement for a pipeline with the state's three largest oil companies, but he says it is weak and he wants to include more proposals. Palin says she also wants to open up the negotiating process, but in the past she has supported a liquefied natural gas project with a pipeline that parallels the trans-Alaskan pipeline system to Valdez.
Unknown is what effect, if any, independent candidate Andrew Halcro will have in the November election. Halcro is a former Republican legislator and business owner from Anchorage, but his stances on social issues don't match up with GOP planks. Political observers differ on which candidate his presence could hurt.
University of Alaska Anchorage professor Carl Shepro said Halcro could pull votes from both Knowles and Palin. Shepro said Halcro's presence may ultimately benefit Knowles, whose past two Election Day victories came in three-way races.
Knowles' strong appeal in rural Alaska could help him repeat, Shepro said.
"I think in a three-way race, Knowles wins," Shepro said. "Historically, if you carried Anchorage and the Bush, you can count on winning."
U.S. House
U.S. Rep. Don Young, the state's only House member, is seeking an 18th term. This time, his challenger is an Alaska Native advocate of ending the Iraq war.
Young, a 72-year-old Republican from Fort Yukon, was first elected in 1973 to fill the vacancy left by the death of Democrat Nick Begich, who died in a plane crash with then-House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, D-La.
A former riverboat captain, Young is wired into the provincial sentiments of his constituents and frequently rails against federal interference in state affairs. He's also known for bringing federal dollars back to the state.
As chairman of the House Transportation Committee, he secured funding for the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, a span that would take Ketchikan traffic to the city airport on Gravina Island. After a public outcry against such pork in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Congress removed the stipulations that the $223 million be earmarked for the bridge, but still sent the money to the state to let local lawmakers sort it out.
Young is the third ranking Republican member and the eighth ranking overall member of the House of Representatives.
Diane Benson of Chugiak won the Democratic primary and will challenge Young in November. Benson's son was severely injured by a bomb in Iraq 13 days past his date to return to America after senior military officials ordered his unit on an extended stay.
She has called the Iraq war a quagmire and pledged to frame her campaign around it.
Legislature
Going into the election, Republicans are in firm control of the Alaska House, holding a 26-14 margin. One of the Democrats, Rep. Richard Foster of Nome, is a Democrat in name only, he is the whip for the Republican majority caucus. It's closer in the Senate, which Republicans control 12-8. Half of the seats are up grabs there in November's election.
-- Associated Press
