Topline
Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R) advanced to the November general election for Alaska’s single House seat alongside three other candidates as part of the state’s new open primaries process that will culminate in a ranked choice voting process.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) waves as she is introduced at RECon 2010 at the Las Vegas … [+]
Key Facts
Palin is taking part in two separate races on Wednesday—the open primary for the November elections and a special election for the same House seat which has remained unfilled since March.
Palin advanced in the House primary alongside fellow Republican Nick Begich, Democrat Mary Peltola and one more candidate who is yet to be determined, the Associated Press reported.
Votes cast in the parallel special election to fill the same seat are still being counted with Palin, Peltola and Begich being locked in a close race, that could be determined by ranked choice voting if no one receives an outright majority.
The special election was called to fill the final few months of longtime Rep. Don Young’s (R) term following his March 18 death, which left Alaska’s House seat open for the first time since 1973.
What To Watch For
Alaska will not start tabulating the ranked-choice voting results for 15 days—the deadline for overseas absentee ballots to arrive. Under its system, the second choices on ballots that picked the candidate with the fewest votes will be redistributed and counted as first-choice votes until one candidate secures a majority.
Tangent
Incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) progressed in the state’s open primary for the Senate alongside Trump-endorsed Republican Kelly Tshibaka, the Associated Press reported. They will be joined in the November general elections by two other candidates who are yet to be determined. Murkowski—who voted to impeach Trump following the January 6 riots—held a slim one point lead over Tshibaka which half the total votes counted.
Key Background
Palin launched her campaign on April 1, embracing an unabashedly pro-Trump approach by blaming problems like inflation on the “radical left.” She won the former president’s endorsement just two days later, with Trump noting that Palin was one of the first high-profile Republican figures to endorse his presidential campaign in 2016. Palin vaulted from relative national political obscurity as the governor of one of the least populous states to become a household name in 2008, when Republican presidential nominee John McCain selected her as his running mate. That made her the second-ever woman to appear on a major party’s presidential ticket, and she remains the only woman to ever run on a Republican ticket. Palin resigned as Alaska governor in June 2009, just months after McCain lost to Democrat Barack Obama, citing rising legal bills incurred due to a series of ethics complaints she claimed were “frivolous” maneuvers by her political opponents.
Further Reading
Midterm elections roundup: A new ranked choice test (NBC News)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/08/17/trump-backed-sarah-palin-advances-in-alaska-house-race/