2014 Alaska gubernatorial election and Mallott merged their campaigns to appear on the November ballot as a single independent ticket, which the Alaska Democratic Party endorsed. On this ticket, Walker ran for governor with Mallott as his running mate. Both candidates' former running mates withdrew. Parnell was considered vulnerable, as reflected in his low approval ratings. The consensus among "The Cook Political Report", "Governing", "The Rothenberg Political Report", "Sabato's Crystal Ball", "Daily Kos Elections", and others was that the contest was a tossup. Former Republican governor Sarah Palin, who had praised Parnell as her successor when she resigned in 2009, endorsed Walker and Mallott,
John Harris (Alaska politician) for Alaska governor in 2010, but dropped out of the race over fundraising concerns. Harris has asked Ben Stevens, former Alaska state senator and son of Ted Stevens, to resign from his position on the Republican National Committee. Stevens is under investigation for his ties to the oil field services company Veco Corp. In 2002, Harris offered an amendment that would have stopped an increase in state alcohol tax. In 2001, due to legal problems posed when pilots fly into Canada, he introduced a bill to change the law requiring pilots to carry a gun as part of their survival