Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia
Joseph Brusgard

Bill Walker's entry into Alaska's governor race is the 10th non-consecutive run by a governor in the state since 1960

On June 1, 2026, former Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) filed to run for governor, an office he left in 2018. Walker previously ran for governor in 2022, coming in third place, receiving 21% of the vote behind Les Gara’s (D) 24% and incumbent Mike Dunleavy’s (R) 50%.

Walker is not the first former governor to run again. In research dating back to 1960, Ballotpedia found at least 135 instances in which 102 governors ran for non-consecutive terms, with some governors running more than once. In Alaska, the state has the second-highest number of candidacies with 10 instances across nine elections. The earliest recorded instance was in 1962 when former territorial governor Mike Stepovich (R) ran for governor of the state, but was defeated by William Egan (D). In 1974, two former governors ran against each other.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.