The seat vacated by Rep. Don Young (R-AK) has finally been filled.
Young passed away earlier this year, so the seat was back on the block in a special election.
Trump-backed Sarah Palin was among the favorites, but the new election system in Alaska worked against her.
Palin was defeated by native Alaskan and Democrat Mary Peltola.
What About the General Election?
Now, I know what you are thinking…
This probably means that Palin will also lose the general election to Peltola in November to fill the seat for the entire term.
That is not necessarily the case.
Alaska is now using the ranked-choice system, and three candidates qualified.
Peltola, Palin, and Nick Begich III, also a Republican.
Independent Al Gross withdrew in the special election, so his second choice votes were shifted over to the remaining three candidates.
For the most part, Peltola benefitted from that.
With both Palin and Begich drawing from the Republican pool, they may only need to survive the first round of the election.
If Peltola fails to reach the 50 percent threshold, one candidate is eliminated and the second choice votes get distributed.
It is a fairly safe bet that Palin and Begich will be the second choice of voters that vote for those two candidates, which should push the survivor over the top.
The question is, with only one Democrat candidate, can they get enough votes to prevent her from getting to 50 percent on the first ballot?
Source: Washington Examiner
