The 1998 Alaska Gubernatorial Election, The Last time before Mary Peltola that a democrat has received the majority of the vote in Alaska, resulted in the largest margin of Victory for an Alaska Governor in the history of the State with Incumbent Governor Tony Knowles winning over the combined write in vote by 31.5%
This election fetured a 3 way split in the Republican Party's vote, with Republican Moderate Ray Metcalfe Running in a separate Party than the GOP, & GOP nominee John H. Lindauer becoming plagued with a scandal resulting in the GOP supporting a write-in campaign for Primary runner up Robin Taylor
(Said Scandal Was that Lindauer failed to properly disclose that his campaign was primarily funded by his wife, a Chicago Lawyer)
All the while, Governor Knowles focused on Alaska's growing economy, Jobs, and supporting children, while appearing as a pro-business, pro-family centrist (Source:
This was also the first time an Alaska Governor had won reelection since Republican Governor Jay Hammond Did so in 1978.
And lastly, this was the last time that an Alaska Governor was elected to a second full Term, as the subsequent ones would Either: Retire, Resign, be defeated for reelection, or retire mid-reelection in an attempt to unsuccessfully stop a certain candidate from winning.
Note: If you Combine the GOP + Write In vote You get the subsequent map, which is a typical Alaska coalition with the GOP Strongest in the Mat-Su and Fairbanks, and the Democrats in the Bush and Juneau, but Knowles's majority came from his landslide in Anchorage.
Buoyed by the Anchorage Suburban/Exurban HD-18, Knowles performed strongly in the ancestrally republican south Anchorage, winning all the districts in the area.
Combining the GOP Vote also shrinks Knowles' victory from a Gigantic 31.5%, to a modest, but still strong for a Democrat in Alaska 7.47% Win.