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Alaska Primary Sets Up 3-Way Governor's Race

Dunleavy won the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary after garnering 62 percent of the vote with 95 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. Begich, also previously the former mayor of Anchorage, clinched the Democratic nomination after running virtually unopposed.

By Max Greenwood

Alaska’s gubernatorial election will be a three-way race between Gov. Bill Walker (I), former Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy (R).

Dunleavy won the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary after garnering 62 percent of the vote with 95 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. Begich, also previously the former mayor of Anchorage, clinched the Democratic nomination after running virtually unopposed.

Walker initially planned to seek the Democratic nomination as sought to run for a second term as governor. But after Begich entered the race in June, Walker opted instead to remain an independent candidate for his re-election bid.

Dunleavy, who served in the state Senate from 2013 until 2017, has campaigned on a “make Alaska safe again” message – a phrase that harkens to President Trump’s call to “make America great again.”

The three-way general election could carve out a path to victory for Dunleavy.

A poll conducted in June by the Alaska Correctional Officers Association (ACOA), just weeks after Begich entered the race, showed Dunleavy leading with 38 percent of the vote, while Begich and Walker took second and third, with 33 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

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