Will Bill Walker run on the AIP ticket?

The plot is thickening in the 2010 race to be Alaska's next governor. Last week, Bill Walker, who failed to overtake Sean Parnell in the GOP primary, mysteriously let it be known that he was "considering all his options." Cue drum roll.

Now, it seems the likely option is taking over the governor's spot on the Alaskan Independence Party's ticket. And it appears the Anchorage attorney could be close to closing that deal.

Walker's people say he's still trying to decide whether he wants to be in the race, and he'd seriously consider an AIP offer. "The decision for Bill is whether he wants to run or not," says Taylor Bickford, Walker's spokesman. The decision for AIP is whether they want to offer Bill a spot.

But wait! What about Lisa? A blog post Wednesday even suggested it might be Murkowski who is switching to the governor's race, having lost the U.S. Senate GOP nomination to Joe Miller.

It's a good thing there's two spots: the AIP's lieutenant governor slot is still open, too.

The AIP candidate who's signed up to run for governor (but has never filed a stitch of paperwork with the Alaska Public Offices Commission so, boy, is he in trouble) is Don Wright of Wasilla. He wouldn't talk on Wednesday evening, according to his son who answered the phone.

But Lynette Clark, the AIP chairwoman, says the party's executive board plans to meet Friday evening in executive session to discuss the party nominating a replacement for Wright if and when he withdraws.

And there's the rub, and appears to be why Walker, who is certainly not shy about holding press conferences, hasn't called one yet to announce his continued quest for the state's top spot. (The Political Animal isn't really holding it's breath on the Lisa rumor; if the Libertarians rejected her, the AIP is even less likely to take her in.)

It seems Wright hasn't withdrawn. Yet. By all accounts, he's a man who does things his own way, and in his own time. Clark says she's talked to him about it on a few occasions and "three times he said he wasn't and one of those times he said he was." Clark at least seems sure enough that Wright is going to step aside that she's been in close touch with the Division of Elections to make sure she understands exactly what needs to be done to replace him.

That includes Wright sending an official letter to the elections division stating he is withdrawing. He hadn't done that yet as of Wednesday night, as far as Clark knew. Once Wright withdraws, the party would nominate a replacement. That name has to be submitted to the state elections office by 5 p.m. Sept. 15. So, Don, time's a wastin', as they say.

Clark won't say whether Walker is the heir apparent. She says AIP hopes to hold its own press conference soon. But that is a storyline slugged "only in Alaska." And delightfully appropriate. It was, after all, Walker's friend and (gas line) mentor Wally Hickel who 20 years ago took the AIP slot and rode it to victory -- and the governor's office.

The AIP website has the story: