On October 16, Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor, Byron Mallott, resigned from office. He is on the ballot as a candidate for re-election, but if he is elected, he will not accept the office and it will be vacant. See this story.

Alaska elects Governors and Lieutenant Governors as a team. Independent Governor Bill Walker is Mallott’s running mate. Walker and Mallott used the independent candidate petition procedure to get on the general election ballot, and the ballot labels them “petition nominees.” But the Alaska ballot also tells the party affiliation of each candidate for partisan office. Walker is labelled as “unaffiliated” but Mallott is labelled as “Democrat”, because he is a registered Democrat. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.

National Public Radio has this story about Unite America, a group which believes voters ought to elect more independent candidates to public office. Unite America has endorsed 29 independent candidates running in November 2018. Here is the story. The emphasis is on Colorado, the state in which Unite America is headquartered. Thanks to Ken Bush for the link.

On October 12, the three ballot-listed candidates for Governor of Arkansas debated, and the debate was televised. See this story. Thanks to Independent Political Report for the news. The three candidates were the nominees of the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Parties.