Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished at the top of a field of 48 other candidates in the special congressional primary for the state’s only U.S. House seat that was held for 49 years by the late U.S. Rep. Don Young.
Palin, who ran as the Republican vice-presidential candidate with the late Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2008, led in results released on Sunday with almost 30% of the ballots counted. Republican Nick Begich was second with 19.3%, surgeon Al Gross, an independent had almost 12.5%, and Democratic state legislator Mary Peltola had almost 7.5%.
The initial results released by the state Division of Elections included 108,729 votes. It was not immediately clear how many ballots were outstanding. The division reported late Saturday that it had received about 139,000 ballots so far. Ballots had to be postmarked by Saturday.
Saturday marked the first ballot count; state elections officials plan additional counts on Wednesday and Friday, with a final count slated for June 21. They have targeted June 25 to certify the race.
The Associated Press has not called any winners in the special primary as the final election results could change.
The top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to an August special election in which ranked-choice voting will be used. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Young’s term, which ends in January. Young died in March at age 88. He was the longest-serving Republican in congressional history.
Palin, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, tweeted on Saturday, “Thank you, Alaska!”
“I’m looking forward to the special general election so we can highlight our ideas for fixing this country by responsibly developing Alaska’s God-given natural resources, getting runaway government spending under control, protecting human life, protecting the right to keep and bear arms, and restoring respect for individual liberty and the Constitution,” Palin’s statement said.
Palin, 58, announced last April that she was running for Young’s seat, marking her political comeback after almost 13 years away from politics. She became the Last Frontier State’s first female governor in 2006 and at the age of 42 was the youngest person to hold the office in state history. Palin announced her resignation on July 3, 2009, and stepped aside later that month.
This election was unlike any the state has seen, crammed with candidates and conducted primarily by mail. This was the first election, too, under a system approved by voters in 2020 that ends party primaries and uses ranked-choice voting in general elections.
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