Alaska governor election sees shakeups

5 pm this afternoon marked the end of the filing period for candidates in the 2018 Alaska gubernatorial race - and there have been many changes.

To begin with, Governor Bill Walker said today that he will *not be running in the democratic primary.

Walker announced through Facebook today that he - along with Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott - will be collecting signatures to appear on the November ballot.

Walker declared last month that he planned to run as an independent in the democratic primary... but representatives of his campaign announced earlier this week that Walker would drop out of the primaries if former Senator Mark Begich decided he was throwing his hat in the ring.

Debra Call of Anchorage filled for Lieutenant Governor early this morning, saying she had received a late-night call from Begich, asking her to be his running mate.

Debra Call is an Alaska Native tribal leader.

Within the last hour that the office was open, Mark Begich filed to run as a democrat in the 20-18 election.

While some politicians were busy getting *into the race - today saw candidates withdraw as well.

State Representative Mike Chenault announced on Facebook last night he is dropping out republican primary.

Chenault said he is pulling out due to personal reasons.

Fairbanks' own John Binkley said he is *not planning to run in the gubernatorial election.

That means the republican primary will see Mike Dunleavy, Scott Hawkins, and the latest entry into the election - Mead Treadwell -all compete for the republican ticket.

Treadwell is a former Alaska Lieutenant Governor.

Ultimately, these announcements mean that there could be three names for governor on the November ballot - an independent, a democrat, and a republican.