A Dittman Research poll conducted between Feb. 26 and March 4 of 809 Alaskans asked several questions about the 2018 election for governor, and one question stands out as important bellwether:
Who would you most likely vote for for governor if the election were between Republican Mike Dunleavy and non-affiliated Bill Walker?
Must Read Alaska is not privy to all the public sentiment information gathered by the Dittman poll, but it appears the name recognition challenge Dunleavy had in late 2017 has been overcome to a great extent.
Dunleavy for Alaska has run ads on television during the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, and has had an active radio presence statewide, along with social media.
The responses to the question – when picking just between Dunleavy and Walker – were:
Mike Dunleavy – 47 percent
Bill Walker – 41 percent
Unsure or someone else – 12 percent
In the past 50 years, Dittman Research has accurately predicted the winners of Alaska gubernatorial and senatorial races 100 percent of the time. In this poll, Dittman is doing research on behalf of the Dunleavy for Alaska independent expenditure group, whose chair is Terre Gales. The group has raised over $500,000 so far to make its case that Mike Dunleavy is the strongest candidate in the field.
A separate poll — by an unknown firm — was conducted over the weekend and asked if respondents were likely to vote for Democrat Mark Begich, Republican Mike Dunleavy, or former Gov. Sean Parnell, who the pollster said was unaffiliated (he is registered Republican).
An earlier poll by Morning Consult showed that Walker is the least popular governor in the nation who is facing reelection.
