Taylor Bickford, Campaign Manager

Today, “GOP candidates for governor made their case for votes – and even took occasional jabs at each other – during a debate in Juneau,” as reported by Becky Bohrer of the Associated Press.

Gov. Sean Parnell and Republican challenger Bill Walker laid out their platforms and duked it out, primarily over economic and resource development issues.

Each Republican candidate was given a chance to pose a question to one opponent of their choice.

Walker chose Parnell, accusing him playing politics with Alaska’s future, and demanding answers for the secrecy surrounding his failed Canadian gasline project.

Parnell chose Walker, asking where the state of Alaska would find the money to “write a check” for the cost of the All-Alaska Gasline.

Walker fired back, accusing Parnell of failing to understand the basic fundamentals of gasline economics. “Every LNG project in the world is financed by the market, not the government,” explained Walker to Parnell.

“The process is called ‘project finance’ and would require the state to put in at most an equity share of 20 percent, or $4 billion to $6 billion. The governor’s lack of understanding here is frightening, and indicative of the problem we have in Alaska. Politicians who have little real world experience are asked to make complex decisions about Alaska’s future. We need a governor who knows what to do and has the courage to do it,” elaborated Walker in a statement after the debate.

In an clear shot at Walker, Parnell stated that “being governor is about much more than a single issue,” to which Walker commented, “If I am a one-issue candidate because I am the only candidate with a concrete plan, then so be it.”

“As far as I’m concerned, Sean Parnell is a zero-issue candidate. The only thing that he appears to care about is getting elected, at all costs.”