You've heard of Sean Parnell, Ralph Samuels and Bill Walker. But how about "Singin' Sam" Little, a longtime Alaska trucker and country singer who aims to whip them all and win this year's Republican nomination for governor.
Singin' Sam and his dog, Rowdy, hope to make sure you know all about him. They'll be touring Alaska in a silver 48-foot campaign coach that Little bought from a Nashville gospel group. He'll woo Alaska voters with his guitar, singing songs straight from his CD, "Truck Driver for Governor."
"All over Alaska from Kodiak to Nome,
Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, or if Ketchikan is your home
Jump on the bandwagon and join the winning team.
For a truck drivin gov'nor wearing boots and blue jeans."
What's he stand for? Hear him sing about bringing back the longevity bonus, the checks that all Alaska seniors used to get from the state.
"We need to get serious, build Alaska's gas line,
for all the elder-ly let's put longevity back on line
Protect the fishing industry and all of the Native lands.
The next governor's going to be just a truck driving man."
He also says the state needs to build a refinery to produce gasoline in-state. Little wants to rebuild the Delta farm project, growing seed potatoes for export.
Little has just started to become visible in the governor's race, attending his first candidate forum recently in Wasilla. "This is my first forum of my whole life," he told the Mat-Su Chamber of Commerce crowd. "Except for being in some honkey tonks singing with a bunch of drunks or whatever. So it's kind of different, I'll say that."
Little hasn't been included in any of the polls in the governor's race. Anchorage pollster and political consultant Dave Dittman said he'd never heard of him.
"I like country music, but Waylon and Willie and Merle," Dittman said. "I don't know Sam."
Read more of this story at adn.com