Watch: Sarah Palin Takes Impressive Lead In Tight Race

By Eliana Regev | Friday, 17 June 2022 05:15 AM
Views 2K
Watch: Sarah Palin Takes Impressive Lead In Tight Race

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came out on top in a crowded open congressional primary for the late Alaska Rep. Don Young’s congressional seat - beating 48 different challengers to proceed to August’s special election alongside fellow Republican Nick Begich and Independent Al Gross.

Palin, Begich, and Gross, an orthopedic surgeon, were among 48 candidates in last Saturday’s special primary for the seat, which was left empty after Young’s death last March. Young had held the seat for 49 years.

The top four vote-getters in the special primary advance to a special election, set for August 16, in which ranked-choice voting will be used. The winner of that race will serve the remainder of Young´s term, which ends in January.

State elections officials issued vote counts on Wednesday, the first day since the special primary in which counts were conducted. Further counts are planned for Friday and Tuesday.

With 132,730 votes counted, Palin had 28.3%, followed by Begich with 19.3% and Gross with 12.8%. Democrat Mary Peltola had 8.7%, and Republican Tara Sweeney had 5.5%.

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The election was unusual because it was conducted primarily by mail. It was the first election under a system supported by voters in 2020 that ended party primaries and institutes ranked voting for general elections.

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The election continued as scheduled after a legal fight over ballot access matters, with the state protecting itself against accusations that how the primarily by-mail election was held discriminated against voters with visual impairments.

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Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, held significant name recognition in a field that included present and former state legislators and a North Pole city council member named Santa Claus. Many of the candidates were relative unknowns.

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Begich comes from a family of prominent Democrats, including uncles Mark Begich and Tom Begich, who have both held elected office. Gross unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2020 with the endorsement of state Democrats. Alaska Democratic party leaders in this race pressed voters to pick a Democrat.

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Peltola, one of six Democrats on the ballot, is a former state lawmaker. Sweeney was an assistant secretary of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of Interior throughout the Trump administration.

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Palin explained to The Associated Press on Wednesday she felt good regarding the campaign she’s run but wanted to see the final numbers. In a statement on election night, Palin announced she was looking forward to the August special election. Palin stated Wednesday she would be looking forward to it whether she had qualified for the race or not.

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