Leading Off:
• AK-Gov: The National Journal‘s Karyn Bruggeman checks in to see what’s ailing Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, who’s mostly been trailing in the polls ever since Democrat Byron Mallot teamed up with and independent Bill Walker to create a “unity ticket” last month. Parnell’s still bedeviled by a controversial oil company tax cut he pushed last year (which only narrowly survived a ballot-box repeal attempt in August), as well as a burgeoning sexual-assault scandal in the state National Guard.
But Parnell also faces a mathematical problem, too: He can’t squeeze his way on to the airwaves because they’re already so chock-full of ads for Alaska’s hotly contested Senate race. Over 50,000 Senate ads had aired through Oct. 9, according to a Wesleyan Media Project study Bruggeman cites, compared with just 1,300 for the governor’s race, and Parnell’s only managed to run his own ads a paltry 170 times. Parnell may still get lucky thanks to his state’s heavy red lean, but when you’re behind and you can’t get your message out, you’re in a very uncomfortable spot.
