Speaking to the party faithful, the major Republican candidates for governor last week all found themselves saying that the so-called Tea Party or the Conservative Patriot Movement is good for their party.
The occasion was the Republican convention in Juneau.
Hoping to convince GOP officials they should be elected in the August primary, Governor Sean Parnell, Ralph Samuels and Bill Walker agree Alaska needs a natural gas pipeline, it doesn’t need the health care overhaul, and the federal government should butt out of state resource development. Lower-profile candidate Gerald Heikes of Palmer also addressed the convention.
Only one –Parnell — is currently in office. Samuels is Parnell’s most formidable opponent. A former legislator who represented Anchorage in the state House for six years – Samuels did his best to put the governor on the defensive.
Rosemarie Alexander, KTOO – Juneau
