Some big news out of Alaska over the weekend:
Former Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is throwing his name into the race for the Alaska governor's mansion.
Begich, who served in the Senate from 2009 until 2015, made his plans official on Friday just before the candidate filing deadline. The announcement throws up an obstacle to Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, who is seeking reelection this year.
After Begich's announcement, Walker said that he would forgo the state's Democratic primary, and would instead focus on collecting signatures to appear on the ballot in November, The Associated Press reported.
Walker was elected in 2014 with Democratic support. He said Friday that he has "no interest in criticizing anyone for stepping up to serve their state."
As many of you remember, I wrote a lot of diaries in support of Begich’s re-election campaign and like all of you, I was sad to see Begich lose re-election. There was speculation that Begich would seek a rematch against the current U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R. AK), who narrowly defeated Begich in 2014. While Walker was already vulnerable and already a top GOP target, it’s unclear yet if Begich’s entrance into the race makes things complicated for Team Blue to hold onto the race. And while we were anticipating a rematch between Begich and Sullivan, Begich could still be facing a rematch against another opponent from 2014:
Former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said he's running in the Republican primary for governor, according to an emailed letter to supporters.
"Today, I filed the paperwork to run for Governor in this year's GOP Primary. I hadn't planned to run. Alaskans have put a lot of work into this election already. But as we approached this day, many Alaskans all over the state were unsatisfied with our choices. After much prayer, and discussion with my family, I'm running to offer Alaskans a strong, pro-business, experienced conservative choice," the letter said, with the word conservative underlined.
Treadwell said Friday by phone from Connecticut that he'll highlight his lengthy experience in business and government to win the Republican primary.
His record includes serving as lieutenant governor under Parnell starting in 2010, and as deputy commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation under Gov. Wally Hickel in the early 1990s.
Stay tuned.