Diane E. Benson

Diane E. Benson (born October 17, 1954) is an Alaskan politician, writer, dramatist and actress. She was the 2010 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Alaska, defeating three other opponents in the Democratic primary. Benson's running mate for governor was former state House minority leader Ethan Berkowitz; they lost in the general election to the Republican ticket of Sean Parnell and Mead Treadwell by 22% of the vote.

Benson ran for Alaska governor as the Green Party candidate in 2002 and for the U.S. House against veteran incumbent Don Young as the Democratic nominee in 2006, attaining a historically good result of 40% with little support by the party. In her second House bid in 2008 she was defeated in the Democratic primary by Berkowitz, the person with whom she would run on the 2010 gubernatorial ticket and who was that year a "Red to Blue" candidate supported by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.