Politics of Alaska best performance, with a net gain of 7.5 percentage points. In 2008, Governor Sarah Palin became the first Republican woman to run on a national ticket when she became John McCain's running mate. She continued to be a prominent national figure even after resigning from the governor's job in July 2009. Politics of Alaska Political party strength in Alaska has varied over the years. The communities of Juneau, Sitka, downtown and midtown Anchorage, the areas surrounding the College/University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and Ester and the "Alaska Bush" – rural, sparsely populated Alaska – stand out as Democratic strongholds, while
Governor of Curaçao of the Netherlands ("status aparte"). Before this date the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles was also Governor for Curaçao. The first Governor of Curaçao is Frits Goedgedrag, who also was Governor of the Netherlands Antilles before that country's dissolution on 10 October 2010. He resigned at the end of 2012 due to health reasons, after which his responsibilities were taken over by acting Governor Adèle van der Pluijm-Vrede (who had taken up her office on 10 October 2010 as well). Acting Governor Adèle van der Pluijm-Vrede swore in her deputy as Second Acting Governor, N.C. Römer-Kenepa, on 24 June 2013