The Alaskan Independence Party (AKIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party that advocates an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also advocates positions similar to those of the Constitution Party, Republican Party and Libertarian Party, supporting gun rights, anti-abortion policies, privatization, home schooling, and limited government. Wally Hickel was elected Governor of Alaska in 1990 on the Independence Party ticket, making it one of the few third parties to have controlled a governor's seat; however, Hickel transferred to the Republican Party before the 1994 election.
Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. He worked as a construction worker and eventually became a construction company owner/operator during Alaska's territorial days. Following World War II, Hickel became heavily involved with real estate development, building residential subdivisions, shopping centers and hotels. Hickel entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska's battle for statehood and remained politically active for the rest of his life.
Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett, was an Alaska politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Senator. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, in Congress from 1945 to 1959 as a Delegate, and from 1959 until his death in 1968 as a U.S. senator. He was opposed to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, along with his fellow Senator Ernest Gruening, and also worked to warn people about the dangers of radiation. Many acts bear his name, including a major law known as the Bartlett Act, mandating handicap access in all federally-funded buildings.
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and again for governor in 2006. In September 2008, Knowles became president of the National Energy Policy Institute, a non-profit energy policy organization funded by billionaire George Kaiser's family foundation, and located at the University of Tulsa.
Jay Sterner Hammond was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II with the Black Sheep Squadron. In 1946, he moved to Alaska where he worked as a bush pilot. Hammond served as a state representative from 1959 to 1965 and as a state senator from 1967 to 1973. From 1972 until 1974 he was the mayor of the Bristol Bay Borough. Then, in 1974, he was elected governor of Alaska. He oversaw the creation of the Alaska Permanent Fund in 1976, which, since the early 1980s, has paid annual dividends to Alaska residents. He advocated for fiscal responsibility. When his tenure as governor was over, he continued to be active in public life. He advocated for environmentally and fiscally responsible government and individual civic responsibility. From 1985 to 1992 he hosted a television series called Jay Hammond's Alaska. He wrote three autobiographies.
Keith Harvey Miller was an American Republican politician from Alaska. Miller was the second secretary of state of Alaska under Walter Hickel. He became the third governor of Alaska after Hickel’s resignation to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Under his tenure, Alaska came into sudden wealth after an oil lease sale on the North Slope created a revenue of $900 million.
Michael Anthony Stepovich was an American lawyer and politician who served as the last non-acting Governor of the Territory of Alaska. Stepovich served as Territorial Governor from 1957 to 1958, and Alaska was given U.S. statehood in 1959.
John Bruce "Jack" Coghill was an American politician and businessman who was the sixth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1990 to 1994, serving under Governor Walter Hickel. Both were members of the Alaskan Independence Party.
Joseph E. Vogler was the founder of the Alaskan Independence Party. He was also chair or gubernatorial nominee during most of the party's existence. He was also known, originally in his adopted hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, and later statewide, as a frequent participant in governmental and political affairs and frequent litigant in court. Curiously enough, he was known to many non-political observers for his fashion sense, in particular his ubiquitous wearing of fedoras and bolo ties.
Sean Randall Parnell is an American attorney and politician who was the 10th governor of Alaska from 2009 to 2014. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009, and was elected governor in his own right in 2010 with 59.06% of the vote, as the largest percentage margin of any Alaska governor since statehood. In 2014, he narrowly lost his bid for re-election and returned to work in the private sector. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The Alaska Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage.
The 1998 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 3, 1998. The election resulted in a landslide for the Democratic incumbent, Tony Knowles, who had won the 1994 gubernatorial election by only 536 votes. Jim Sykes, founder of the Green Party of Alaska, ran on that party's ticket, but Desa Jacobsson later replaced him on the ballot.
Robin L. Taylor is a lawyer from the U.S. state of Alaska. He has also served as a judge, government administrator and Republican Party politician. It is in this latter capacity that he is best known. Taylor served in the Alaska Legislature from 1985 to 2003. Running for governor of Alaska in 1998 in a blanket primary, Taylor was outpolled by John Lindauer for the Republican nomination. When questions arose over the source of Lindauer's campaign monies, Taylor reemerged as a write-in candidate for the office backed by the Republican Party of Alaska, who had disowned Lindauer. While Taylor outpolled Lindauer in the general election, both candidacies fell far behind that of incumbent Tony Knowles, who was elected to a second term.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and former President pro tempore Ted Stevens ran for re-election for an eighth term in the United States Senate. It was one of the ten Senate races that U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, predicted as being most competitive. The primaries were held on August 26, 2008. Stevens was challenged by Democratic candidate Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage and son of former U.S. Representative Nick Begich.
The 2008 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent the state of Alaska in the United States House of Representatives. Alaska has one seat in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; whoever was elected would serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the nationwide presidential election. The primary election was held August 26, 2008.
The 1994 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of Governor of Alaska, United States. Democratic candidate Tony Knowles narrowly defeated Republican candidate Jim Campbell and Lieutenant Governor Jack Coghill of the Alaskan Independence Party. In the Republican Revolution year of the 1994 elections, Alaska's was the only governor's seat in the country to switch from Republican to Democratic.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on November 4, 2008, as part of the nationwide presidential election held throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose 3 electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1990 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, for the open seat of Governor of Alaska. In 1989, incumbent Governor Steve Cowper, a Democrat, had announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term.
Jerry Ward is an American politician and businessman.
The 1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election was held on March 6, 1973, to elect the United States representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district. Incumbent Democratic Representative Nick Begich had won reelection in 1972, but had gone missing shortly before the election.
