Former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy (R) defeated former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D) and Libertarian William Toien in the November 6, 2018, general election for governor of Alaska.

Alaska remained under divided government following the election, meaning no one party controlled the governorship, state Senate, and state House. While a Republican was elected governor and the GOP maintained numerical majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, a coalition of Democrats, independents, and Republicans in the state House split control of the chamber. Read more here.

Gov. Bill Walker (I) suspended his re-election campaign on October 19, 2018, saying in a statement, "In the time remaining, I believe we cannot win a three-way race." Walker's original running mate, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott (D), resigned from his position on October 16, 2018, and was succeeded by Valerie Nurr'araaluk Davidson (I). After suspending his re-election campaign, Walker endorsed Begich.

Walker initially intended to run for re-election as a Democrat, but Begich announced he would run for the nomination shortly before the June 1 filing deadline. Dunleavy secured the GOP gubernatorial nomination on August 21.

Walker and Mallott still appeared on the state's general election ballot.

Alaska was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.

for more information on the Democratic gubernatorial primary and here for more information on the lieutenant gubernatorial primary.
for more information on the Republican gubernatorial primary and here for more information on the lieutenant gubernatorial primary.

Polls

Polls conducted after Walker's exit from the race (Walker still appeared on the ballot):

Alaska gubernatorial election, Begich (D) v. Dunleavy (R) v. Walker v. Toien

Poll	Poll sponsor	Mark Begich (D)	Mike Dunleavy (R)	Bill Walker (I)	William Toien (L)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Alaska Survey Research October 26-29, 2018	N/A	42%	43%	8%	3%	4%	+/-4.4	500

Alaska gubernatorial election, Begich (D) v. Dunleavy (R) v. Walker

Poll	Poll sponsor	Mark Begich (D)	Mike Dunleavy (R)	Bill Walker (I)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Alaska Survey Research October 19-22, 2018	N/A	44%	48%	5%	3%	+/-4.4	500

Polls conducted before Walker's exit from the race:

Alaska gubernatorial election, Begich (D) v. Dunleavy (R) v. Walker (I)

Poll	Poll sponsor	Mark Begich (D)	Mike Dunleavy (R)	Bill Walker (I)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Alaska Survey Research October 12-14, 2018	N/A	26%	43%	27%	4%	+/-4.4	500
Public Policy Polling October 11-12, 2018	Tech Solidarity	23%	43%	24%	9%	+/---	645
Alaska Survey Research October 1-6, 2018	N/A	23%	47%	27%	4%	+/-4.4	500
Alaska Survey Research September 21-25, 2018	N/A	29%	44%	23%	4%	+/-4.4	500
AVERAGES		25.25%	44.25%	25.25%	5.25%	+/-3.3	536.25

Alaska gubernatorial general election, 2018 (hypothetical match-up)

Poll	Poll sponsor	Mark Begich (D)	Mike Dunleavy (R)	Bill Walker (I)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Patinkin Research June 22-28, 2018	Walker campaign	22%	36%	28%	15%	+/-3.4	800
Alaska Survey Research June 15-21, 2018	N/A	33%	38%	23%	6%	+/-3.8	654
AVERAGES		27.5%	37%	25.5%	10.5%	+/-3.6	727

Alaska gubernatorial general election, 2018 (hypothetical match-up)

Poll	Walker (I)	Dunleavy (R)	Unsure or someone else	Margin of error	Sample size
Dittman Research February 26-March 4, 2018	41%	47%	12%	+/-3.4	800 likely voters

Race ratings

Race ratings: Alaska gubernatorial election, 2018

Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2018	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Republican	Tilt Republican	Tilt Republican	Tilt Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Likely Republican

Election history

2014

In the 2014 gubernatorial election, the independent Democratic Party-endorsed ticket of Bill Walker and Byron Mallott defeated incumbents Sean Parnell (R) and Dan Sullivan (R).

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, 2014

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Independent	Bill Walker/Byron Mallott	48.1%	134,658
	Republican	Sean Parnell/Dan Sullivan Incumbent	45.9%	128,435
	Libertarian	Carolyn "Care" Clift/Andrew C. Lee	3.2%	8,985
	Constitution	J.R. Myers/Maria Rensel	2.5%	6,987
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.3%	893
Total Votes			279,958
Election results via Alaska Division of Elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, Sean Parnell/Mead Treadwell won election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Alaska. They defeated Ethan Berkowitz/Diane Benson (D), William Toien/Jeffrey Brown (L) and Donald R. Wright (I) in the general election.

Governor/Lt. Governor of Alaska, 2010

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Sean Parnell/Mead Treadwell Incumbent	59.1%	151,318
	Democratic	Ethan Berkowitz/Diane Benson	37.7%	96,519
	Libertarian	William Toien/Jeffrey Brown	1%	2,682
	Alaskan Independence	Wright/Donald R.	1.9%	4,775
	Write-in	N/A	0.4%	898
Total Votes			256,192
Election results via State of Alaska Division of Elections.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Sarah Palin/Sean Parnell won election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Alaska. They defeated Tony Knowles/Ethan Berkowitz (D), Andrew Halcro/Fay Von Gemmingen (I), Don Wright/Douglas Welton (AI), William Toien/Robert Mirabal (Lib) and David M. Massie (Green) in the general election.

Governor/Lt. Governor of Alaska, 2006

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Sarah Palin/Sean Parnell	48.4%	114,697
	Democratic	Tony Knowles/Ethan Berkowitz	41%	97,238
	Independent	Andrew Halcro/Fay Von Gemmingen	9.5%	22,443
	Alaskan Independence	Don Wright/Douglas Welton	0.5%	1,285
	Libertarian	William Toien/Robert Mirabal	0.3%	682
	Green	Massie, David M.	0.3%	593
Total Votes			236,938
Election results via State of Alaska Division of Elections.

2002

On November 5, 2002, Frank Murkowski/Loren Leman won re-election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Alaska. They defeated Fran Ulmer/Ernie Hall (D), Diane Benson/Coburn (Green), Don Wright/DeNardo (AI), Raymond Vinzant/Mendias (MOD) and William Toien/Anders (Lib) in the general election.

Governor/Lt. Governor of Alaska, 2002

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank Murkowski/Loren Leman	55.8%	129,279
	Democratic	Ulmer/Hall	40.7%	94,216
	Green	Diane Benson/Coburn	1.3%	2,926
	Alaskan Independence	Don Wright/DeNardo	0.9%	2,185
	Moderate	Raymond Vinzant/Medias	0.7%	1,506
	Libertarian	William Toien/Anders	0.5%	1,106
	Write-in	N/A	0.1%	263
Total Votes			231,481
Election results via State of Alaska Division of Elections.

Demographics

Demographic data for Alaska

	Alaska	U.S.
Total population:	737,709	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	570,641	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	47.6%	50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:	66%	73.6%
Black/African American:	3.4%	12.6%
Asian:	5.9%	5.1%
Native American:	13.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	1.2%	0.2%
Two or more:	8.4%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.5%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	92.1%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	28%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$72,515	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	11.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alaska.

As of July 2016, Alaska's three largest cities were Anchorage (pop. est. 294,000), Juneau (pop. est. 32,000), and Fairbanks (pop. est. 32,000).

Alaska, Governor/Lieutenant Governor