The results come more than two weeks after the state used rank-and-file voting. to determine which candidate will complete the GOP Don Delegate’s term. Young, who died in March.
Democrat Mary Peltola, former state representative, will be the first Alaska Native in Congress after winning a special election that includes GOP candidates Nick Begich and former Governor Sarah Palin.
Mary Peltola, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Tribal Fish Commission, served 10 years in the state Legislature and campaigned as ‘Alaska’s best asset to stop an extremist from winning.
“It was a GOOD DAY,” Mary Peltola tweeted after the election results. “We won tonight, but we still have to take that seat in November.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised Mary Peltola for “making history as the first Alaskan native to be elected to Congress.”
“His valued and unified views, his deep experience in public service, and his commitment to working families will underpin the work of the caucus and Congress. ours,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Peltola finished fourth in the crowded nonpartisan primaries in June, when 48 candidates vie for one of four spots in the August 16 special vote. But ahead of the final table on Wednesday. Wednesday, Peltola is leading.
The special election is the state’s first test of preference voting, implemented following a 2020 ballot measure. The same system will be used in November,
With 93% of the votes counted in Wednesday night’s ranked selection, Peltola got 51.5% of the vote compared with Palin’s 48.5%.
Voters voted more than two weeks ago to determine who will serve the final four months of Representative Don Young’s term after his death in March at the age of 88. The longtime GOP lawmaker was represented Alaska for nearly 50 years in Congress.
No candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in the August 16 election, triggering a spillover under the new system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. .