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
Mike Dunleavy (politician) Senate caucus after numerous replacement candidates were rejected by either. Dunleavy and Kevin Meyer were the Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor of Alaska, respectively, and were elected in the November 2018 general election. Dunleavy was the first Governor elected in 2018 to be sworn in on December 3, 2018. Mike Dunleavy (politician) Mike J. Dunleavy (born May 5, 1961) is an American politician who is the 12th and current governor of Alaska, since 2018. A Republican, Dunleavy was a member of the Alaska Senate from 2013 through 2018. Dunleavy defeated former Democratic United States Senator Mark Begich in