Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, sinking in polls, suspends his campaign

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 sent the race — which has included three candidates — into chaos.

“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 Walker campaign was already 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; he had no party to back him in the Legislature. And control already was split. Republicans control the Senate, but a coalition led by Democrats controls the House of Representatives.

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.

Walker’s term also saw struggles over taxes and a recession in Alaska, which has been battered by a downturn in oil production and prices. Most of Alaska’s government is supported by taxes paid by the oil companies, and as those revenues have fallen, the budget has been strained. 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 went ahead and lit the flames. Walker made it clear, in a point-by-point analysis of Dunleavy’s record and statements on campaign trail, his view that Dunleavy was a 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.

ASSOCIATED PRESS