Democrat Mary Peltola Beat Sarah Palin In The Alaska Special Election

Aug 31 (Reuters) – Mary Peltola, a Democratic former state lawmaker, won a special election to fill Alaska’s only seat in the House of Representatives, becoming the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress, the Alaska Department of Elections Wednesday. She beat Republican former Governor Sarah Palin 51.47% to 48.53%. Palin is widely known for her unsuccessful 2008 vice presidential run with John McCain. Peltola will serve out the remainder of the term of Republican Rep. Don Young, who died earlier this year, and will face re-election on Nov. 8. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up She is the first Alaska Native to represent a state where nearly 20% of the population is Native American, the highest percentage in the United States. Palin’s campaign for the House seat was her first run for public office since McCain’s defeat. He is credited with helping open the door to a more far-right wing of the Republican Party. During her campaign, Peltola ran as “Alaska’s best effort to stop an extremist from winning,” according to her campaign website. She highlighted her status as “the only candidate in this race who is not a multi-millionaire”. The election is the first to be held under the state’s new ranked choice system, with voters listing candidates in order of preference on the ballot. A candidate must win 50% of the vote to be declared the winner. The snap election was called after the death of Young, 88, who was first elected in 1973. The winner of the special election will serve out Young’s term, which ends at the end of this year. Palin, Peltola and Republican Nick Begich III will compete in the Nov. 8 election to fill the seat for the next two years. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday that he is resigning his House seat, effective immediately, so he can focus on his gubernatorial campaign against Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Moira Warburton in Seattle and Eric Beech in Washington Editing by Richard Cowan, Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Democrat Mary Peltola Beat Sarah Palin In The Alaska Special Election Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-02” author: “Amy Allen”

Aug 31 (Reuters) – Mary Peltola, a Democratic former state lawmaker, won a special election to fill Alaska’s only seat in the House of Representatives, becoming the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress, the Alaska Department of Elections Wednesday. She beat Republican former Governor Sarah Palin 51.47% to 48.53%. Palin is widely known for her unsuccessful 2008 vice presidential run with John McCain. Peltola will serve out the remainder of the term of Republican Rep. Don Young, who died earlier this year, and will face re-election on Nov. 8. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up She is the first Alaska Native to represent a state where nearly 20% of the population is Native American, the highest percentage in the United States. Palin’s campaign for the House seat was her first run for public office since McCain’s defeat. He is credited with helping open the door to a more far-right wing of the Republican Party. During her campaign, Peltola ran as “Alaska’s best effort to stop an extremist from winning,” according to her campaign website. She highlighted her status as “the only candidate in this race who is not a multi-millionaire”. The election is the first to be held under the state’s new ranked choice system, with voters listing candidates in order of preference on the ballot. A candidate must win 50% of the vote to be declared the winner. The snap election was called after the death of Young, 88, who was first elected in 1973. The winner of the special election will serve out Young’s term, which ends at the end of this year. Palin, Peltola and Republican Nick Begich III will compete in the Nov. 8 election to fill the seat for the next two years. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday that he is resigning his House seat, effective immediately, so he can focus on his gubernatorial campaign against Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Moira Warburton in Seattle and Eric Beech in Washington Editing by Richard Cowan, Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.