Andrew Halcro (born September 20, 1964) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and businessman from

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

. Formerly a Republican member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

, he ran for

Governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate in the 2006 election, placing third with 9.46 percent of the vote.

Early life and education

Halcro was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on September 20, 1964. After graduating from

East Anchorage High School Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School (BDEAHS) is a public high school which serves grades 9–12 in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage School District. The current principal is Ron Brown. East's mascot is the Thunder ...

, he attended

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

and the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna C ...

Career

Business career

Halcro was director of sales and marketing for

Avis Rent a Car Avis Car Rental, LLC is a Global car rental company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. Along with Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental and Zipcar, Avis is a unit of Avis Budget Group. Avis Budget Group operates the Avis brand in ...

of Alaska and a board member of the Avis Licensee Association from 1990. From 2002 he was president of Avis Alaska. He stepped down as president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

when he launched his 2006 gubernatorial campaign, but returned to the company following the election.

Alaska House of Representatives

In 1998, he ran for the

as a Republican, winning both the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and the general election. In 2000, he won the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election. He did not seek re-election in 2002.

Gubernatorial race

Halcro ran for

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

. His gubernatorial campaign emphasised

community health Community health refers to non-treatment based health services that are delivered outside Hospital, hospitals and Clinic, clinics. Community health is a subset of public health that is taught to and practiced by Clinician, clinicians as part of th ...

, economic wellbeing, the state's marketing efforts and small business. On election day, Halcro finished third, receiving 22,443 votes, 9.46 percent of the total. Republican nominee

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

won the election with 114,697 votes, 48.33 percent and former Governor Tony Knowles finished second, with 40.97 percent.

Later career

After losing his gubernatorial bid, Halcro began a political blog, through which he became a prominent critic of Palin's administration and publicized the scandal surrounding Palin's July 2008 dismissal of a Public Safety Commissioner. Palin later criticized Halcro in her memoir '' Going Rogue''. Halcro said in September 2009 that he would run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in Alaska's at-large congressional district in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, but in February 2010 said he was reconsidering his decision. He became president of the Anchorage

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

in 2012. In January 2015 Halcro filed a letter of intent to run for

Mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964. ...

. He declared his intention to run later that month, and said he was running because "We need a healthy economy, a healthy community, and we need trust." He placed third in the first round of the election and did not advance to the

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

. Halcro ran as an

in the 2022 special election to succeed

Don Young Donald Edwin Young (June 9, 1933 – March 18, 2022) was an American politician from Alaska. He is the List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service, longest-serving Republican Party (United States), Republican in House ...

in Alaska's at-large congressional district. He finished eleventh in the blanket primary, with 1.87 percent of the vote.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halcro, Andrew 1964 births Alaska independents Alaska Republicans American transportation businesspeople Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Living people Members of the Alaska House of Representatives Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Willamette University alumni University of Alaska Anchorage alumni 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature 21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature