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,
Patrick Allen (governor-general) that Allen would succeed Kenneth Hall as Governor-General. The announcement generated controversy, both because Allen had strong ties to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and because as an Adventist, Allen might be unable to attend events due to his strict observation of the sabbath. On 28 January 2009, Allen resigned from his presidency of the West Indies Union. He also resigned as chairman of the board of Northern Caribbean University, and other religious organisations in 2009. On 26 February 2009, he became Jamaica's sixth appointed Governor-General, and eighth overall (two people briefly held the position as acting Governor-General). Although Seventh-day