Whitaker endorsed Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election and spoke during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver , Colorado . Many member of the state GOP expressed ill feelings about the decision , with one former state senator accusing him of being a Republican In Name Only . Whitaker 's endorsement of Obama was notable as the mayor of the second-largest metropolitan area in Alaska , the home state of 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin , who was nominated by John McCain after the Democratic convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
Jim Whitaker