US: Sarah Palin endorses independent over Republican for Alaska governor
Sarah Palin appears to be at odds with the Republican party – after she backed an independent candidate for Governor of Alaska.
Palin, who has notoriously anti-gay views, was the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 2008, and is herself a former Republican Governor of Alaska.
However, she has surprisingly backed independent candidate Bill Walker in the upcoming gubernatorial elections, over Republican incumbent Sean Parnell.
Mr Walker is running on a ‘unity’ ticket, with Democrat Byron Mallott as his running mate.
A statement from Mr Walker this week revealed: “Last night my family, along with Byron and Toni Mallott, and our campaign staff attended a reception hosted by Todd and Sarah Palin at their lakeside property in Wasilla.
“Byron and I are seeing diverse and wide reaching support that spans the state and crosses party lines.”
Ms Palin said: “I trust them to develop our God-given resources responsibly and to the maximum benefit of Alaskans.”
Both Mr Walker and Mr Parnell oppose same-sex marriage – though Byron Mallott supports marriage equality.
Palin, renowned for her constant gaffes, recently got the address of the White House wrong in a speech to the anti-gay American Family Association – listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre.
She last year admitted to defending a homophobic rant made by anti-gay Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson without actually reading his comments, while she was attacked by singer Sia in March for sampling her song Titanium without permission in an anti-gay speech.
