Robin L. Taylor - Gubernatorial Campaign, 1998

Gubernatorial Campaign, 1998

In 1998, Democratic incumbent Governor of Alaska Tony Knowles ran for re-election against newspaper publisher John Howard Lindauer, the Republican nominee. Controversy surrounding Lindauer's misrepresentation of information in campaign finance documents, his strong anti-gay rights stances, and whether he met the residency requirements caused his campaign to nearly collapse. One week before the election, Taylor announced that he was launching a write-in campaign as an alternative Republican candidate for governor. Taylor split the Republican vote with Lindauer, earning 18.26% to his 17.86%. Knowles was re-elected in a landslide.