Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a Republican, has advanced to the general election for Alaska’s lone congressional seat. The seat was left vacant after U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) passed away earlier this year. Young has served in Congress since 1973.
Under a brand new, voter-approved election system in the state, party primaries have been replaced with open primaries in which the top four vote-getters in each race advance to the general election. Ranked choice voting will then be used to determine the winner in November.
Republican Nick Begich and Democrat Mary Peltola have also advanced to the general election. The fourth slot has yet to be determined.
As votes are still being counted, Petola has received a plurality of the vote with 35.1 percent. Palin trails close behind with 31.4 percent while Begich has received 26.9 percent. A little over 68 percent of the vote has been tabulated as of the morning of August 17.
Peltola, Begich and Palin were also vying in a special election to serve the remainder of Young’s term through January. The special election and primary races were on opposite sides of Tuesday’s ballot. The winner of the ranked choice special election may not be known until the end of the month.
For the state’s Senate race, both incumbent Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and her main challenger, fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka, have advanced from Tuesday’s primary. Tshibaka has received the backing of President Trump and has targeted Murkowski for siding with Democrats on a number of key issues. The other two slots have yet to be determined.
In the race for Alaska governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy, Democrat Les Gara and independent Bill Walker advanced to the November general election.
