Sarah Palin Loses In Special Alaska House Race, But Is Back On Ballot In November

Breaking Business Sarah Palin Loses In Special Alaska House Race, But Is Back On Ballot In November Brian Bushard Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 31, 2022, 08:23pm EDT | Updated Aug 31, 2022, 09:21pm EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) lost to Democrat Mary Peltola in a special election to fill the state’s vacant House seat, Alaska officials announced Wednesday, more than two weeks after polls closed—thwarting Palin’s plans for a political comeback, at least for now.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will face Democrat Mary Peltola again in November to decide who . .

. [+] serves the next two years as the state’s representative in Congress. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Key Facts Peltola won 51.

47% of the vote for Alaska’s lone House seat, over Palin’s 48. 53%, sending Peltola to serve out the remainder of longtime Republican Rep. Don Young’s term following his death in March.

The Associated Press called the election for Peltola shortly after Alaska officials released the results. Palin and Peltola, as well as Republican Nick Begich III, will all be on the ballot in the general election in November to determine who is elected to the two-year House term—the three candidates advanced in the primary election earlier this month to earn a spot on the ballot in the general election. The final vote tally was released 15 days after the special election because none of the candidates received an outright majority in the state’s ranked-choice voting system (the final vote includes the second choices from ballots that picked candidates with the fewest votes in the August 16 election, and adds them to the vote count for the top two candidates).

Key Background Palin, who came into the national spotlight in 2008 as longtime Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain’s running mate in the presidential election, launched her campaign for Alaska’s House seat in April, two weeks after Young’s death, on an anti-establishment, pro-Trump platform attacking the “radical left” for rising inflation and illegal immigration. Former President Donald Trump endorsed her two days later, calling her a “wonderful patriot”—Palin was one of Trump’s loudest supporters during his presidency.

Palin resigned as Alaska’s governor in 2009, months after McCain lost to former President Barack Obama, amid a flurry of ethics complaints she dismissed as “frivolous” attacks by her political opponents. Surprising Fact Peltola, a former state legislator, is the first Alaska Native elected to Congress—her mother is a member of the Yup’ik people. She’s also the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the House in 50 years, since Begich’s grandfather—a Democrat also named Nick Begich—briefly held the position in 1972.

The older Begich went missing in a plane crash one year into his term and was replaced by Young, who held the state’s lone House seat for almost a half-century. Further Reading Sarah Palin Advances To General Election After Leading Alaska House Primary (Forbes) Trump-Backed Sarah Palin Advances In Alaska House Race (Forbes) Alaska to release results of special election with Palin and Peltola locked in close race (Washington Post) Send me a secure tip . Brian Bushard Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.