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
Charles Carter (Alaska politician) Juneau. Carter sold the mortuary business in 1950, which continued to bear his name. The business was acquired by the Fairbanks-based Alaskan Memorial Parks, Inc. in 1964. Charles Carter (Alaska politician) Charles W. Carter (1870–1961) was a Canadian-born mortician and politician in the U.S. territory of Alaska. Carter served as the eighth mayor of Juneau, Alaska, from 1913 to 1914. He was a citizen of Alaska by 1901. In 1947, along with Henry Roden and David Gross, he persuaded the Alaska Territorial Legislature to rename the Pioneers Trust Fund, a regional fund for elderly citizens, to the Pioneer Memorial Fund.