Hickel lost the primary to incumbent Jay Hammond by 98 votes, then launched a write-in campaign, which outpolled Croft in the general election.

He founded the Croft Law Office, a workers' compensation firm, in downtown Anchorage, and appeared before the Alaska Supreme Court in over sixty cases.

Not long after arriving in Anchorage from Texas in 1962, Croft became a charter member of the Alaska Legal Services Corporation, serving as chairman of the Board of Governors from 1971 to 1978.

While still involved in Democratic Party politics, Hurley was largely out of the public eye at that point, busy raising her daughters in Wasilla.

The campaign was overshadowed by the aftermath of the Republican primary between incumbent Jay Hammond and former governor Walter Hickel.

Hickel lost the primary by 98 votes, and after an extensive court challenge, launched a write-in campaign.

He is responsible for establishing the Regents Scholarship benefiting UA junior, senior and graduate students.

In 1986, his article, Something More Important Than Money: Vocational Rehabilitation in Workers Compensation Cases, was published in the Alaska Law Review.

He was married to Antoinette Ruth "Toni" (née Williamson) Croft, a graduate of Stanford University.

His sister, Dona Lee Croft, is a professor of violin at the Royal College of Music in London.