Why did the governor of Alaska suddenly withdraw from the race?

There are only two and a half weeks left before polling day and it was an election. Governor Bill Walker (I) was in danger of losing. Instead, on Friday, he abruptly ended his campaign and supported Democrats in the race, Mark Begich.

This is a strange gesture that does not fully explain his statement that he realized he could not win. Walker's campaign had been behind much of this election cycle, and he suspended it so late in the election that his name will still be inscribed on the ballot. And his decision comes a few days after the resignation of his lieutenant-governor following mysterious circumstances related to "inappropriate comments" addressed to a woman.

So what's going on? The insiders at The Fix have not quite understood, but here are some significant moments that could give us an idea of ​​why the governor of Alaska suspended his campaign at the last minute.

He is one of the most vulnerable governors of the electoral cycle: Walker is the only independent governor of the country and overthrowing him is the Republicans' top priority. In the meantime, this race has never been much on the radar of Democrats. (They have many more likely pickup opportunities in the Lower 48.)

In the most recent ranking of The Fix, which ranks among the 10 governorates most likely to tip in the midterm elections, Walker is the number 2 out of 10. He is unpopular, he is at the helm of a State where the unemployment rate is high and, according to David Weigel of the Washington Post, as part of an effort to get the state out of the recession, it has reduced annual checks sent to all Alaskans. Cutting these checks was a gesture that one of the Democratic agents described as the death knell of Walker's popularity.

The Republican seemed ready to win: And it is possible that Walker wanted to thwart that, even at the expense of his campaign. Walker has more in common with Republicans than Democrats, but Mike Dunleavy, a former senator, is more right than Walker.

Walker's hopes for reelection against Dunleavy faded again when Democrat Mark Begich, former Senator and Mayor of Anchorage, entered the race. Polls showed that Dunleavy led each candidate with double-digit numbers. A recent poll in Alaska Survey Research found that Dunleavy held 43% of the vote and Begich and Walker shared the rest, with about 26% each. It goes without saying that if you combine their two votes, Begich could get enough to win.

He has a history of last-minute changes in his election: Although there were none at the last minute, Walker was still in the race when nearly 2,000 mail ballots were sent recently.

But in 2014, he began a career as a Republican, then went on to independence, then persuaded his Democratic opponent, Byron Mallott, to join his campaign as lieutenant governor. Walker and Mallott have barely won this election.

His lieutenant-governor resigned a few days agoOn Tuesday, Mallott resigned after receiving "inappropriate comments" to a woman. But there is little more known than that. A few hours later, a new lieutenant governor was sworn in and Walker had distanced himself from his former number 2: "Byron has recently made inappropriate comments that do not reflect the high level of behavior required in the past. exercising his duties as lieutenant governor, "he told a statement. "I learned about the incident last night, and Byron took full responsibility for his actions and resigned."

But, as Anchorage Daily News reports, it was almost impossible for Walker to dissociate himself completely from the lieutenant-governor three weeks before polling day: Mallott's name appears on campaign documents, state signs, and on the ballot.

The reason Walker left is not entirely clear, but it is clear that a number of things in recent weeks have not changed. As a result, the state of the race becomes slightly more competitive for Democrats, but Republicans still have the upper hand, just like before Walker's sudden stop.