Democrat Mary Peltola beats Sarah Palin in Alaska special election


In a major upset, Democrat Mary Peltola defeated Republican Sarah Palin in August's special election for the U.S. House seat in Alaska, according to final results released Wednesday.
Alaska is now using a ranked-choice voting system, and while the election was held on Aug. 16, the second-choice counts weren't made until Wednesday. Peltola held a 9-point lead over Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, in first-preference votes. She won the second round with 52 percent of the vote compared to Palin's 49 percent, Axios reports.
Peltola is now the first Native Alaskan elected to Congress, and the first Democrat to hold Alaska's lone House seat in nearly 50 years. Republican Don Young was first elected to the House in 1973 and remained in Congress until his death in March at age 88.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I look forward to continuing Don Young's legacy of bipartisanship, serving all Alaskans and building support for Alaska's interests in D.C.," Peltola said in a statement. "We built a great deal of momentum in a short time. ... I plan to continue introducing myself to Alaskans and working to earn their trust."
This election determined who will finish out Young's term, which ends Jan. 3. Peltola, Palin, Republican Nick Begich, and libertarian Chris Bye are all in the running for the general election in November.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Alaska has the resources, but America needs the will'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling