1978 Alaska gubernatorial election

The 1978 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, for the post of governor of Alaska. Republican incumbent Jay Hammond defeated four opponents: former Governor of Alaska and write-in candidate Wally Hickel, Alaska Senator and Democratic nominee Chancy Croft, former Commissioner of Natural Resources and Independent candidate Tom Kelly and Alaskan Independence Party nominee Don Wright. After losing to Hammond in the Republican primary, Hickel ran as a write-in candidate and was able to outperform Croft. Republican Tom Fink and Democrat Jay Kerttula also ran in the open primary.

For related races, see 1978 United States gubernatorial elections.

1978 Alaska gubernatorial election

← 1974 November 7, 1978 1982 →

Nominee Jay Hammond Wally Hickel Party Republican Write-In Running mate Terry Miller None Popular vote 49,580 33,555 Percentage 39.07% 26.44%   Nominee Chancy Croft Tom Kelly Party Democratic Independent Running mate Katie Hurley Kathryn Poland Popular vote 25,656 15,656 Percentage 20.22% 12.34%

Results by state house district Hammond:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60% Hickel:      30–40% Croft:      30–40%

Governor before election Jay Hammond Republican Elected Governor Jay Hammond Republican

This is the first time an incumbent Republican governor was re-elected for a second term, and this would not occur again until 2022.

Results

Open Primary Result^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jay Hammond (inc.)	31,921	30.01%
	Republican	Wally Hickel	31,823	29.92%
	Republican	Tom Fink	17,487	16.44%
	Democratic	Chancy Croft	8,910	8.38%
	Democratic	Edward A. Merdes	8,655	8.14%
	Democratic	Jay Kerttula	7,125	6.70%
	Republican	Jimmie D. Lockhart	451	0.42%
Turnout			106,372

1978 Alaska gubernatorial election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jay Hammond (inc.)	49,580	39.07%	−8.60%
	Write-In	Wally Hickel (write-in)	33,555	26.44%
	Democratic	Chancy Croft	25,656	20.22%	−27.15%
	Independent	Tom Kelly	15,656	12.34%
	Independence	Don Wright	2,463	1.94%	−3.02%
Majority			16,025	12.63%
Turnout			126,910
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "Our Campaigns - AK Governor - Open Primary Race - Aug 22, 1978".
2. "1978 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Alaska" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2009.