Sean Parnell

Sean Parnell (2008)

Governor Parnell (second from left) visits a National Guard base in August 2009

Sean R. Parnell (* 19th November 1962 in Hanford , California ) is an American politician of the Republican Party . From July 2009 to December 2014 he was Governor of the state of Alaska .

Life

Earlier years and political advancement

Parnell moved to Alaska with his family in 1973 when he was 10. After graduating from East Anchorage High School in 1980, he studied at Pacific Lutheran University from 1980 to 1984 . There he received his bachelor's degree . At the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now known as Seattle University School of Law ), which he attended from 1984 to 1987, he received a doctorate degree JD. Parnell then began practicing as a lawyer in Alaska and Washington that same year . He owned a small law firm in Anchorage .

In 1992 Parnell was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. His father Pat had also belonged to it earlier. After two terms in office, Parnell successfully ran for a seat in the Alaska Senate in 1996 . In 2006 he was elected as a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Alaska and thus deputy to Governor Sarah Palin . His predecessor and party colleague Loren Leman had not run again.

Alaska Governor

After the announced on July 3, 2009 resignation of Palin from the governorship, Parnell took office on July 26, 2009 as governor of Alaska. In November 2010 he was re-elected for a regular term of office , which he took up in December of that year, with a share of 59 percent of the vote . Parnell was the first lieutenant governor to be promoted to governor to be confirmed at his post after the end of his term.

In the summer of 2014, the Republicans nominated him again for re-election. In the gubernatorial election on November 4, 2014, however, he was defeated by his non-party challenger Bill Walker with 45.9 percent of the vote. 48.1 percent of the voters voted for Walker; which made a difference of around 6000 votes. The outcome of the election was initially unclear for several days, as a close race loomed and not all votes had yet been counted. After Walker's lead increased continuously in the course of the count, the challenger declared himself the winner on November 11th. Three days later the election result was officially confirmed and Parnell admitted his defeat. Two months before the election date, Democratic candidate Byron Mallott withdrew his own candidacy. Instead, he applied to Walker's side for the post of lieutenant governor. Through the merger of the ex-Republican Walker and the Democrat Mallott to a so-called Unity Ticket , the votes of Parnell's opponents should be bundled in order to maximize the chances of his replacement. Governor Parnell's polls had previously dropped significantly as the tax cuts he initiated were extremely unpopular for oil companies. His handling of various incidents of discrimination in the National Guard had recently severely damaged his reputation. A few days earlier, even Sarah Palin had spoken out in complete surprise against her former deputy Parnell. On December 1, 2014, his tenure ended with Walker's swearing in. Parnell did not comment on his further life plans.

While gubernatorial elections were held in 36 states in 2014, Parnell was one of only three voted out incumbents. The other two were Democrat Pat Quinn of Illinois and Republican Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania .

Later political career

In the 2016 presidential election , Parnell was one of three Alaskan electors to Electoral College . He turned down another candidacy for governorship in 2018.

Private

Parnell has been married to his wife Sandra since 1987 and has two daughters. He lives in Anchorage with his family.

Web links

Commons : Sean Parnell  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography on the side of the Republican Party in Alaska (English)
• Sean Parnell in the National Governors Association (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Bill Walker, an Independent, Wins Governor's Race in Alaska , Nov. 14, 2014, The New York Times
2. ↑ Walker, Mallott to join forces in governor's race (English)
3. ^ Electors for President , www.elections.alaska.gov