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,
Seal of Alaska Seal of Alaska The Seal of the State of Alaska was first adopted before statehood, when the area was known as the District of Alaska. The first governor designated a seal of the district, which featured glaciers, northern lights, igloos, and an Eskimo ice fishing. In 1910, this seal was replaced with a design more representative of the state's industrial and natural wealth. Today's seal contains rays above the mountains that represent the famous Alaskan northern lights. The smelter symbolizes mining; the train stands for Alaska's railroads; and ships denote transportation by sea. The trees pictured in the seal symbolize