Bill Walker has been generous to the Ship Creek Group and campaign-associated Alaska economy, spending over $3.8 million in failed gubernatorial election campaigns since 2010. He’s Alaska’s Beto O’Rourke, the Texas Democrat who has failed for statewide office three times in six years, but spent $175 million doing so.
Here’s how much campaign cash Beto O’Rourke burned through losing races
Although the election for governor has not been finalized, Walker, the former one-term governor, now stands with a 20% result in 2022, which is remarkable, considering that in 2018 he pulled out of the race in the last three weeks leading up to the midterm election, and received 2% of the vote.
In 2010, Walker’s first failed run for governor, he spent $570,394.
In the 2018 election cycle when he was running for reelection, he spent $1.039,917.
In 2022, he has spent more than $2,261,730, or about $53 per vote for the 42,943 vote counted so far. Final reports will include more spending and at least a few more votes, but as of now, he has perhaps set a record.
Walker spent a whopping $3,872,041 on elections where he either dropped out or was defeated in a landslide. This may give his donors pause before they give over their hard-earned money to Walker — if there is a next run for governor.
On the other hand, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has never lost a race, and in fact has won nine elections in a row. He spent $1,289,259 on this year’s campaign, as of the most recent filing with Alaska Public Offices Commission.
As of Thursday, Dunleavy’s vote total was over 52%, with 111,897 voters picking him first. More results are expected for all the Nov. 8 races on Tuesday, according to the Division of Elections, and the final sorting of first, second, and third-place votes on the ranked choice ballots will be calculated on Nov. 23.
Whatever the results are, it appears Walker will not be able to retake the governorship of Alaska, in spite of his record spending.
Downing: The loyalty pledge that Bill Walker made to Communist China in 2017
