Walker decides against write-in campaign

[ccharles000]

Bill Walker, who finished second in last month's GOP primary for Alaska governor, said he won't re-enter the race as a write-in candidate.

Walker made the announcement via Facebook Monday morning after weighing the option with his family over the weekend. While a Walker write-in campaign would have been a long shot, he potentially could have pulled voter support from Republican Gov. Sean Parnell.

Walker had been wrestling with whether to get back into the race since garnering 33 percent of the vote in the primary, saying the concerns he had about the state's future weren't being addressed to his satisfaction by either of the race's major candidates, Parnell or Democrat Ethan Berkowitz.

He said he seriously considered running on the Alaskan Independence Party or Libertarian tickets, though neither party fully embraced him. He flirted with the write-in option, initially saying he wasn't inclined to do it but giving it another look after U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was taking that route in trying to hold onto her seat. His campaign believed her decision would give a higher profile to the option, which other big-name candidates -- including Walker's mentor, Wally Hickel -- have pursued but never succeeded with.

http://www.adn.com/2010/09/27/1473495/walker-decides-against-write-in.html