Marco Rubio flashes the Hawaiian good-luck symbol from beyond the political grave.

Basically, he told the Alaska GOP that his delegates were NOT to be released to the other candidates. They remain his until the first ballot. And why is this of benign interest to people? Well

If Rubio had not lodged the request, then Trump and Cruz would have received an equal number of delegates in Alaska. Instead, the state party’s apportionment rules meant that Trump lost three delegates and Cruz lost two, which gave the Texas senator a 13-12 lead among Alaska delegates.

You think Trump wouldn’t have minded the sop of a sudden delegate tie in Alaska to distract people from the horrible week he’s having? Well, it ain’t gonna happen, now.  And it’s no skin off of Ted Cruz’s nose, either.  So, you know, good move there from Marco Rubio.

Moe Lane

PS: Rubio’s also requesting that his name be taken off the California ballot. Every little bit helps.

‘Independent’ Alaskan governor Bill Walker gets his first test over ANWR.

Who does he stand with? Alaskans, or the President?

The Obama administration will propose setting aside more than 12 million acres in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, the White House announced Sunday, halting any chance of oil exploration for now in the refuge’s much-fought-over coastal plain and sparking a fierce battle with Republicans, including the new chair of the Senate Energy Committee.

Right now ‘independent’ Alaskan governor Bill Walker is making noises about increasing state land oil production to make up for any potential loss of revenue, which means that he’s still trying to avoid this fight. Regretfully for Walker, this is not actually an avoidable fight. The President hates cheap energy. Republicans hate being told that they should be cold and in the dark because a bunch of radical Greenies loathe modern Western society. Both sides are absolutely happy to pick this fight.  Walker will simply have to choose whether or not to fall into line behind President Obama like a good little minion. Continue reading ‘Independent’ Alaskan governor Bill Walker gets his first test over ANWR.

Will Gov-elect Bill Walker (“I”-Alaska) flunk his first test?

Or did Alaskans elect a stealth Democrat after all?  We may be about to find out:

Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s ascent to the top of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee is likely to reignite the decades-old debate over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Alaskans have been fighting for the right to drill in wilderness on their state’s northern shore since 1977, when the government first punted on the question of whether to allow oil exploration.

Continue reading Will Gov-elect Bill Walker (“I”-Alaska) flunk his first test?

And now we are at 53.

The AP called it: “Republican Dan Sullivan bested Democratic incumbent Mark Begich in Alaska’s Senate race, picking up an eighth seat for the GOP in the 2014 midterm elections, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.”  You knew this a week ago, because you were reading AOSHQDD; but the AP waited until the trends in the absentee ballots were clear.  Mark Begich is not conceding, of course, but he will start finding that people are already starting to think of him in terms of former Senator Begich.  And so it goes.

My congratulations to Senator-elect Dan Sullivan.

Moe Lane

PS: The Governor’s race remains too close to call.  Realistically, however, incumbent Governor Sean Parnell has to be considered the underdog in that one.  Ironically, his current position is not entirely unlike Begich’s in 2008…

Tweet of the Day, Murkowski Has Both The Chair And The Drop On You edition.

I’m not going to judge.

I was drinking tequila myself, Tuesday night.

Moe Lane

PS: That would be Chairman of Energy and Natural Resources, by the way. She will be taking it away from… Mary Landrieu.

New Dan Sullivan ad gleefully mocks Mark Begich’s pathetic snowmobile prowess. #aksen

Stuff just got real in the Alaska Senate race.

Continue reading New Dan Sullivan ad gleefully mocks Mark Begich’s pathetic snowmobile prowess. #aksen

Mark Begich: one of the 97%. Also, poised to lose in Alaska, at this point.

Actually, based on net worth the man’s almost certainly not part of the Occupy movement’s (remember them*?) vaunted 99%, but that number represents something much more relevant:

… 97%. That’s the amount of time Mr. Begich voted with Obama priorities—from ObamaCare to the stimulus to the president’s nominees. Another key number is zero. That’s how many times in his six years he sponsored an amendment that the Senate voted on. The other word you hear from fired-up locals is “endless”—as in the Obama administration’s nonstop assaults on Alaskan mining and drilling, which Mr. Begich has proved incapable of halting.

Continue reading Mark Begich: one of the 97%. Also, poised to lose in Alaska, at this point.

Sen. Mark Begich (D, Alaska) pays female staffers 71% of what he pays male ones.

Last month it came out that Democratic Senator Mark Begich – who made a big splash pounding the table and shouting about gender pay inequality – doesn’t practice what he preaches. He apparently doesn’t even try.

“Alaska women make just 74 cents on the dollar compared to Alaska men,” wrote Begich in an email to supporters this week. “And anyone who wants to tell Alaska women that they’re not working hard enough should be ready to find out just how tough Alaska women are.”

The average female salary in Begich’s office is a staggering $23,504 less than the average male salary. Women working for Begich are paid just 71 cents for each dollar paid to men, even less than the statewide statistic used by the senator in his email.

Continue reading Sen. Mark Begich (D, Alaska) pays female staffers 71% of what he pays male ones.

Alaska: Dan Sullivan wins! …And Dan Sullivan wins!

It’s like the political equivalent of the majestic Alaska salmon reproductive process.

AoSHQ Decision Desk has the results in the Alaska Senate race, where former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan won in a fairly-evenly match field of four.  Meanwhile, I am told via Twitter that Anchorage mayor Dan Sullivan has also won the primary for Alaska’s Lt. Governorship*.  No word yet whether Dan Sullivan will campaign with Dan Sullivan in the election; it is of course safe to assume that Dan Sullivan endorses Dan Sullivan, and vice versa, although equally of course it is a matter of some friendly debate between Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan about whether Dan Sullivan should be given primacy of place, or whether it should be Dan Sullivan.  I suppose that it all depends on whether you think that a federal legislative position trumps a state executive one; if you think the former, obviously then it should be Dan Sullivan.  Otherwise, you’d support Dan Sullivan’s claim.

Look, you’re just going to have to get used to it.  Because Mark Begich is in serious electoral trouble: since Joe Miller won’t do a third-party run, once Miller concedes the election Dan Sullivan will be on track to beat Begich in November.  With or without Dan Sullivan’s help, although Dan Sullivan should be able to count on Dan Sullivan’s support… Continue reading Alaska: Dan Sullivan wins! …And Dan Sullivan wins!