Dem Mary Peltola Beats Sarah Palin In Alaska House Race

Democrat Mary Peltola has beaten former half-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, to become the first-ever Alaska Native to win a seat in Congress as well as the first woman to clinch the state’s at-large district. Peltola wins a special election for the one U.S. House in Alaska after the death of Rep. Don Young (R).

Beating Palin, Mary Peltola is first Native Alaskan sent by the state to Congress and rare Democrat to win a special election there https://t.co/REvnJwvNXD

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 1, 2022

From the Washington Post:

Peltola’s win flips a seat that had long been in Republican hands. She will serve the remainder of a term left open by the sudden death of Rep. Don Young (R) in March. Young represented Alaska in Congress for 49 years.

Peltola, who’s Yup’ik, is a tribal fisheries manager and former state representative who led in initial counts after the Aug. 16 election. But her win wasn’t assured until Wednesday, when Alaska election officials made decisive second-choice counts using the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.

Republican Nick Begich III, who finished third, was eliminated, and his supporters’ second-choice votes were redistributed to the remaining candidates.

Read the full report here. Palin, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, announced her bid for the House seat saying she has the “cajones” for the job. Guess not…

It is a GOOD DAY. pic.twitter.com/7IW4hsWZ2P

— Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) September 1, 2022

Alaska just had a massive earthquake that is being felt all the way in Washington DC.

Congratulations Congresswoman Peltola — Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 1, 2022

BREAKING: Mary Peltola (D) has won Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress. pic.twitter.com/5pZGgwSECL

— COURIER (@CourierNewsroom) September 1, 2022