Alaska gubernatorial election, 1978

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Alaska gubernatorial election, 1978
Flag of Alaska.svg
  1974 November 7, 1978 1982  
  Jay Hammond 1975.jpg Hickel.gif
Nominee Jay Hammond Walter Hickel
Party Republican Write-in
Running mate Terry Miller None
Popular vote49,58033,555
Percentage39.1%26.4%

  Chancy Croft.jpg No image.svg
Nominee Chancy Croft Tom Kelly
Party Democratic Independent
Running mate Katie Hurley Kathryn Poland
Popular vote25,65615,656
Percentage20.2%12.3%

Governor before election

Jay Hammond
Republican

Elected Governor

Jay Hammond
Republican

The 1978 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, for the post of governor of Alaska. Republican incumbent Jay Hammond defeated four opponents: former Governor of Alaska and write-in candidate Walter Hickel, Alaska Senator and Democratic nominee Chancy Croft, former Commissioner of Natural Resources and Independent candidate Tom Kelly and Alaskan Independence Party nominee Don Wright. After losing to Hammond in the Republican primary, Hickel ran as a write-in candidate and was able to outperform Croft.

A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and may be either appointed or elected. The power of the individual governor can vary dramatically between political systems, with some governors having only nominal or largely ceremonial power, while others having a complete control over the entire government.

Alaska State of the United States of America

Alaska is a U.S. state in the northwest extremity of North America, just across the Bering Strait from Asia. The Canadian province of British Columbia and territory of Yukon border the state to the east, its most extreme western part is Attu Island, and it has a maritime border with Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas—southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. It is the largest state in the United States by area and the seventh largest subnational division in the world. In addition, it is the 3rd least populous and the most sparsely populated of the 50 United States; nevertheless, it is by far the most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel in North America: its population—estimated at 738,432 by the United States Census Bureau in 2015— is more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Approximately half of Alaska's residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, and oil industries, resources which it has in abundance. Military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy.

Republican Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Results

1978 gubernatorial election, Alaska [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Jay Hammond (inc.) 49,580 39.07%
Write-in Walter Hickel (write-in)33,55526.44%
Democratic Chancy Croft 25,65620.22%
Independent Tom Kelly15,65612.34%
Alaskan Independence Don Wright 2,4631.94%
Majority16,02512.63%
Turnout 126,910
Republican hold Swing

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References

  1. "1978 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Alaska" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-31.