Forty-two

Posted by Kyle Hopkins

Posted: November 8, 2006 - 8:01 pm

First of all: Palin is the state’s youngest governor yet. Bill Egan and Steve Cowper were both 44 when they took office. She’s 42.

Also, reporter Tom Kizzia found that yesterday’s turnout actually wasn’t that great. The total number of votes cast was 206,232, which was the smallest total since 1990.

On to the press conferences:

Knowles and Berkowitz have little to say about whether they’ll run again. They talked with pride about their campaign, and Knowles said he did think Halcro pulled votes from him because they believe in so many of the same things.

As for future races, Berkowitz joked that: “Any time Andrew wants to go one and one, I’ll take him.”

An hour later, Palin talked to reporters at her own campaign HQ.

She introduced Mike Tibbles as head of her transition team, but said she wasn’t ready to name names when it comes to who she’ll be hiring to help her run the state. Tibbles said they’re starting the process.

Palin said she was surprised by the margin of victory, though it looks like it’s settling close to numbers her pollster, David Dittman, circulated yesterday. (He’d predicted a six-point Palin win.)

Palin also talked about looking outside her own party when it comes to hiring in her administration. Tibbles said they’ll have a Web site that job-seekers can go to for info.

Finally: What does Palin’s win mean for the Alaska Republican Party?

Palin said Wednesday she still believes the party needs a change in leadership, while party chairman Randy Ruedrich says he’s not stepping down.

Palin will have one voice among many on the party’s decision-making central committee, he said. “We look forward to her participation.”