Biggest governor landslides in Alaska

The most lopsided races for governor of Alaska, ranked by the winner’s margin over the runner-up.

The biggest landslide in a Alaska governor’s race was in 1998, a margin of 33.0 points. Tony Knowles beat Robin L. Taylor, 112,879 to 40,209. Next widest are 2022 (26.1 points) and 2010 (21.4 points).

Every state is ranked together on Biggest governor landslides. For every gubernatorial race Alaska has held, special elections included, see the Alaska governor hub.

What is the biggest landslide in a Alaska governor’s race?

The widest margin in a Alaska gubernatorial general election came in 1998, 33.0 points. Tony Knowles beat Robin L. Taylor, 112,879 to 40,209. Next are 2022 (26.1 points) and 2010 (21.4 points).

Why do some huge wins not appear?

A blowout only counts here when somebody real finished second, which means at least 5% of the vote. Without that rule the list fills with uncontested races and with contests where the record is simply missing the major opponent, both of which show the winner near 100%.

Does this include recalls and special elections?

No, only regular general elections for governor. The Alaska governor hub lists every race including specials and recalls.

Biggest governor landslides in Alaska
#ElectionResultVotesMargin
11998Tony Knowles D def. Robin L. Taylor R112,879 – 40,209+33.0 points
22022Mike Dunleavy R def. Les Gara D132,632 – 63,851+26.1 points
32010Sean Parnell R def. Ethan Berkowitz D151,318 – 96,519+21.4 points
41958William A. Egan D def. John Butrovich R29,189 – 19,299+20.2 points
52002Frank H. Murkowski R def. Fran Ulmer D129,279 – 94,216+15.1 points
61978Jay Hammond R def. Wally Hickel W49,580 – 33,555+12.6 points
71982Bill Sheffield D def. Tom Fink R89,918 – 72,291+9.0 points
81990Wally Hickel A def. Tony Knowles D75,721 – 60,201+8.0 points
92006Sarah Palin R def. Tony Knowles D114,697 – 97,238+7.4 points
102018Mike Dunleavy R def. Mark Begich D145,631 – 125,739+7.0 points
111970William A. Egan D def. Keith H. Miller R42,309 – 37,264+6.3 points
121986Steve Cowper D def. Arliss Sturgulewski R84,943 – 76,515+4.7 points
131962William A. Egan D def. Mike Stepovich R29,627 – 27,054+4.5 points
142014Bill Walker I def. Sean Parnell R134,658 – 128,435+2.2 points
151966Wally Hickel R def. William A. Egan D33,145 – 32,065+1.6 points
161974Jay Hammond R def. William A. Egan D45,840 – 45,553+0.30 points
171994Tony Knowles D def. Jim Campbell R87,693 – 87,157+0.24 points

How this ranking is measured

Gubernatorial general elections in Alaska, ranked by the largest gap in vote share between the top two finishers, widest 25 shown. Served from the governor_race_margin materialized view. A qualifying race needs a genuine second-place finisher with at least 5% of the vote, and at least 1,000 votes between the top two. Recalls and special elections are excluded; the state hub lists those. The national list applies a 50,000-vote floor, so an early race can appear here and not there.

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources · data last verified September 25, 2026.