Democrat Mary Peltola, the dark horse candidate who got just 10.1% of the vote in the special election primary, is now the candidate to beat for filling out Congressman Don Young’s term. The term ends in January and meanwhile, there’s another election underway for the two-year seat, and voters are going to get to decide again who is their congressional representative.
Of the 157,252 votes counted so far in Tuesday’s special general election for the temporary seat, 58,614 voters chose Peltola for that honor, according to the latest results from the Alaska Division of Elections.
By mid-day on Wednesday, 386 of 402 (96.02%) of the Aug. 16 precinct votes have been counted — at least as far as the first round of counting in the ranked choice voting scheme. Peltola is in the percentage lead with 38.05% of the vote. She’s followed by Alaska’s most famous export, Sarah Palin, who won 49,190 votes, or 31.93% of the vote.
Nick Begich trails in third place, and although he expects to do well in the absentee ballots, there are probably not enough to boost him over Palin. He’s come a long ways, but she still leads him by 3%.
The big unknown is where the second choice votes go. If all of Begich’s voters didn’t rank Palin second, Peltola could win the temporary seat. But many Begich voters did, in fact, vote for Palin second. That means in the second round of counting, Palin could add votes. She could pull ahead.
Palin, who told Steve Bannon that her preferred pronoun would be “congressman,” would then become the incumbent congressman that three others on the Nov. 8 ballot would have to beat in order to become the next congressional representative.
A significant portion of the time that ranked choice voting is used, according to experts at the Republican National Committee, there is a clear majority and there is no need for a second round of counting.
But 80% the time there’s a second round of counting, the first place winner ends up winning the race. This would suggest that Peltola could win against Palin.
Palin is an unpredictable entity and Alaskans won’t know until Aug. 31 or Sept. 1 whether the Begich voters chose anyone in second place, whether they picked Palin, or aligned with Peltola as their second choice.
Meanwhile, while Begich has said he voted for Palin in the second place, Palin told Peltola that she will vote for Peltola in November, presumably in the number 2 slot, according to a reporter from the New York Times:
The last thing we need is socialist Peltola!
The last thing we actually needed was Scott Kendall.
Anything he’s ever involved in moving forward should be tainted by the memory of the voting debacle he introduced. It’s even more bothersome that some of you idiots must have voted for it. Let’s Go Kendall should forever be posted on that tard’s door.
Are the Palin supporters ok with this, her backing a Democrat for the 2nd spot? Those that voted for her should be really disappointed in her choosing Peltola #2, I know I sure as hell would be.
It really shows her colors and is what I figured (She is a Democrat).
No, doesn’t matter who she’s pals with or that her ex in laws support Begich. Do what’s right for the state and country, Republicans need the majority.
Tell me how it’s so different from Nick voting for Uncle Mark or Ethan Berkowitz? It’s alright for Nick, but not Sarah? Btw – it’s another reason why I think neither of them are good candidates. But if it’s not a disqualifier for Nick, I don’t know why it would be for Sarah, if we’re being fair and evenhanded. Just sayin’
Hunter -Because the NY Times said Palin voted for Peltola? Jeez, how naive!
Might this be a response to her former in-laws hosting a fund raiser for Nick Begich? Seems like she might want to make a dig at them in response and this might have been viewed as a good opportunity.
Did you see the text?
Palin and Peltola have been closet buddies for a long time.
When Peltola was exiting Juneau, Palin gave peltola a letter allowing her to go to work for Donlin Mine.
They just had to dream up a new name for “lobbiest” so Peltola could spend the next two years running around to every Village passing out free jackets, sweatshirts, hats, backpacks… You get the idea, all the while she was playing trojan horse and telling everyone that Donlin was the greatest thing since ice cream.
I’ll bet Sarah says that to all the girls…
Pull yourself together, Palin!!
Sooooo…..why do we have to RANK these candidates? Why can’t we just vote for one and see who gets the most votes…PERIOD?
RANKED CHOICE is just a ploy…to confuse people into thinking their vote won’t count! VOTE FOR JUST ONE! Pick your favorite and only vote for them! And the dominion machines should be calibrated as such!!
yes, exactly. well said.
This was done to keep Murkowski in office and give dems a better chance. It was sold as a way to get parties other than the typical R & Ds. In Europe, they have just ended up with many people that throw their name in as a joke and one for sure got elected. I was in Hungary in 2019 and they ended up selecting a guy from the Beer Party. He promised everyone a beer if they voted for him. It seemed like he was just as stunned as everyone else that he was elected. My family has told me he wasn’t doing his job very well.
And now we understand why Gross dropped out (or was told to drop out).
Proof Palin doesn’t really care about Alaska. She’d rather ruin the state than have a conservative win who would vote the same way Palin says she would vote. Why wouldn’t she want someone to win who would vote the same way as she? Why does she prefer someone who would vote the opposite way? Unless … Palin doesn’t plan to vote as a conservative after all. She did, after all, support the liberal Bill Walker for Governor.
The way Begich has treated Palin these past few months, I’d definitely vote for Peltola over Begich.
Yeah, because feelings are more important than policy so you voting for Peltola makes perfect sense.
Hahahahaha, all the hardcore Palin heads are gonna have a hard time explaining how “true conservative” “non-rino” Sara just threw her weight behind the democrat and not the republican.
Do you need any more evidence that she is a grifter and not really a dyed in the wool conservative republican? She has no party loyalty. She’s an opportunist, a film flam artist.
I can’t wait for her to fold up her tent and move to AZ permanently.
Ms. Downing, Are you crazy…basing anything on such third hand HEARSAY is disgraceful. Then to make it a headline is very sad. I have enjoyed your coverage and commentary in the past but this is pitiful. Further, consider the biased source of the NY Times…and this article is rubbish. Please consider a retraction and then engage in what you did in the past…actual investigation.
Thank you Mr. Abbott, you nailed it. Under what other circumstances would MRA take the New York Times word for anything nor trust a screenshot of someone’s (Petola’s?) text? The Palin derangement syndrome is running rampant on these pages.
NB3 may be articulate but I could not get him to tell me exactly how he has made all his $$, the name of his businesses in AK, nor how many Alaskans he employs, in a phone call with him. He left me no choice but vote for Palin.
Now there’s a small taste of Palin. More to come if she pulls her scam off. Remember her ‘hero’ and running mate, bomb, bomb Iran McCain? Both losers. Nick Begich is the only true choice for Alaska. Not ‘politickin’, just saying. Palin shouldn’t even be allowed to run, in my humble opinion. Once a quitter, always a quitter.
There you go, Republicans/Conservatives eating their own, at least with liberals they will fall on the sword to make sure a liberal wins. With this choice rank voting, we Conservatives need to see who can win and everyone else get out to insure a win. I didn’t vote for Palin first but I had to vote for her second, hopefully, to keep conservatives in office, not that Palin is a Conservative.
I cannot begin to wrap my mind around this.
That sounds like something Sarah would say.
God help us.
I’m sorry, Sarah, but why would you even suggest you’d vote for a Democrat over a Republican? That kind of sassy nonsense is unwelcomed. What team are you on, then? Your own? Or conservative Alaskans?
And you believe the New York Times???
The circus continues.
Frightening. MurkyKendall – looks like you “won”…
Peltola may be a little more level headed and willing to work with conservatives in the state but when she goes to the federal government she will just be a vote with Pelosi and she’ll vote for things like an “inflation reduction act” that will increase inflation. And she’ll help pave the way for more non-binary school teachers that will be telling kids not to tell their parents how confused they have become about their sexuality because of xers influence. At best Peltola will just stay quite and try not to create too much attention.
If Palin wins, it will probably be just until January because of maneuvers like this.
If this is true while it may be a day late for the special and primary elections, it will be remembered in the regular general election. If Sarah will vote for a leftist Democrat but not a possibly questionable Republican then how could anyone claiming to be a conservative vote for her?
Why do we not know the results of second choice voting? Is this secrecy built into the RCV initiative regulations?
They are waiting for the military votes and something else before they go to round two.
The New York Times is the source? That says it all…
It sounds like a joke at best.
I hope to see Palin take the victory. We’ll see what happens with this odd election.
Thank you for pointing this out first. Wow, Suzanne, this is pathetic that you will take any news from the New York Times and use it….?♂️
You don’t have to agree with everything she prints. The sign of an intelligent mind is the ability to ponder another’s perspective without adopting or deriding it.
You should ask for your money back.
RINO Begich supporters – you believe rhe NYTimes?
Shame on SD reporting more hearsay garbage – she is obviously jealous of Sarah.
That’s a joke right?
How conservative was she when she governed this state? Huge oil taxes and same sex partner benefits as I recall… reasonable people can agree to disagree on both those issues, but they are categorically NOT conservative, and besides going after her brother in law with state resources, quitting early, and being on a losing presidential ticket, those were her signature efforts..
If someone you loved was being hurt, wouldn’t you go after them? I would.
Palin announced that this is a lie. She would never vote Democrat
“She would never vote Democrat”
Gee, it’s almost as if y’all do not remember her endorsing CCP loving Bill Walker for governor……
She endorsed Bill Walker (liberal leaning) & Byron Mallott (Democrat) for governor.
Well if Jasmine Ulloa from the New York times said she heard of it, it must be true. We just can’t find any validation of such a comment. It could be very smart for Sarah to say such a thing that way they can’t accuse her of being a RACIST. Like Native Leader Georgianna Lincoln did when Sarah ran for Governor. Sarah’s response was––So I hate my husband and children because they are part Yupik—Get real Georgianna. It stripped the Liberals of using their favorite word.
Finally got to see the NYT article. The liberal media and MRA must really want Palin to lose, so they’re trying to trick current Palin supporters to hop over to Begich.
Sarah is a backstabbing turncoat. She did it to me often, to the point where I could take it no longer. Now the entire state of Alaska is about to get effed by her. I tried to warn you.
Thanks, Todd. I can’t believe you hung in there as
long as you did.
It’s curious how the Palinheads are so silent on this one.
Sarah’s voting for Dem. Did MRA hear Sarah say that? Nope.
SORE LOSERS, say anything that you here from anybody.
Tell us MRA how was the party for Bagboy at the Old Man Palin’s house. For the record Old Man Palin has a looong history of being a jerk. Hope the party was worth it jerk boy, because only a jerk would put his warped opinion before his Grandchildren.
Despite all the muckracking from this tabloid website – the Jeb Bush Lite candidate of the RINO establishment, Begich, came in last place – behind a Democrat and Palin.
Lol.
Does MRAK have an inside link to Dominion Voting machines? “But many Begich voters, did in fact, vote for Palin in second”. How could someone know, in fact, who Begich voters placed in second? I would guess that Begich voters placed Peltola in second place. Let’s face it – the Dems are better at rigging this game than the rest of us!
Fishing, we will know where those votes went when they do the second round. Stay tuned. – sd
No, we didn’t, we put Nick first and Palin second. Sorry but we’re just not into electing a Democrat like you Palin voters are, we want a Republican in that seat and if it means holding our nose and picking Palin then so be it, but you do you.
Hunter -Because the NY Times said Palin voted for Peltola? Jeez, how naive!
That’s kind of an old timey Alaskan gesture you would commonly see among the gallants. More power to her. It’s only odd because people exhibit such evil traits as we face changing times. More power to her. But I’m not going to do it.
Source? Hearsay….And i voted for NB with no second choice BTW.
Seward Elementary School history class instructor said ? so. Said candidates would sometimes out of chivalry vote for their opposites to ensure political contests retained a semblance of confederacy (friendship) in the republic. Something many steeped in contemporary wokeness deny now. This coaching was for candidates for class President. I recall winning. If I was getting this coaching others were too. ALASKA WAS VERY IDEALIZED ABOUT BECOMING A STATE IN THE UNION AND WANTED TO DO WHAT WAS BEST AND RIGHT.
Ranked choice voting is the RATS way of cheating to make you think you are actually accomplishing something. This is assinine. Get back to real voting and not this BS cheat ridden mess. Vote for one candidate. Not frigging three…. This ranked choice has to go…. We are GIVING them the tools to cheat!!
Ah, the political love-ins–better than Woodstock! Certainly, everybody took notice that Dr. Nick Begich the Second (the same ol’ Begich of “Angels Doesn’t Play This Harp” and “Controlling the Human Mind–The Technologies of Political Control or Tools for Peak Performance”) came out with his son the “Third” on election night. In an election night photo that the “Anchorage Daily News” ran, Nicky’s papa was all smiles–wearing a full set of teeth–and sporting a long, grey ponytail.
It is all a “mind bending” prospect for us all! Maybe the smiles are just part of a family game, but to whose loss and to whose gain?
Edit: “It is all a “mind bending” prospect for us! Maybe the smiles are just part of a family game, but to whose loss and to whose gain?”
Yup.
Begich us trying to split the republican so a Democrat is elected to that seat.
And all of the Begich FanBoys are rubes to the process.
Lol.
Astute observation! You sound like someone who “gets it” and understands how controlled opposition (NYT, MRAK etc.) works to divide the base and ensure a win for the DNC.
NB2 isn’t a Demo. He’s a bonafide Libertarian. Son, NB3, is a conservative Republican, raised by NB2’s former wife’s parents. NB3 is far more conservative than Sarah Palin, who makes a living as a dressy jack-in-the-box candidate, popping out with the same old worn-out lines from 15 years ago, as if on que for another audition to the Enquirer. An empty dress who apparently is highly adept at fooling many Alaskans………still.
Chrissy, I don’t hold society with the Begichs whether they be democrat, republican, libertarian, or some sort of political hybrid! And who knows, the photograph of old man Begich smiling with all those gleaming teeth of his just might have been “Photoshopped!” But I suspect that on election night he wasn’t thinking of his son as becoming dog catcher!
Ours is a society of political shape-shifters. And as we well know, the politics of politics is politics! So, whatever you do, don’t let the wizards lay their hands on you!
In all sincerity, good luck to you and yours, and may our society be better than I think it is!
Edited:
Certainly, everybody took notice that Dr. Nick Begich the Second (the same ol’ Begich of “Angels Don’t Play This HAARP” and “Controlling the Human Mind–The Technologies of Political Control or Tools for Peak Performance”) came out with his son the “Third” on election night. In an election night photo that the “Anchorage Daily News” ran, Nicky’s papa was all smiles–wearing a full set of teeth–and sporting a long, grey ponytail.
“Democrat Mary Peltola, the dark horse candidate who got just 10.1% of the vote in the special election primary”
Over 50,000 votes are 10% of the votes?????
In the special election primary, not the special general. In that election, she got 16,265 votes, 10.1%. – sd
I’m sure this is Palin’s version of ‘jest’. Copycatting on Trump’s endorsement of NY Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler.
Peltola is going to win, I predicted this especially after Gross to told to hit the road. The two Republicans split the Votes and Peltola stepped right in.
Until the 2nd round hits and the votes are redistributed. It’s still not clear who will win.
A lot of Begich voters most likely voted for Palin as their second choice so she’ll pick up those votes.
Sarah…..STILL too dizzy to realize that she handed the election to democrats. No, Begich isn’t perfect, but this is the perfect example of why leftists pushed so hard for ranked choice. The conservative vote is devideed. The leftist vote is not. Duh. M.John
See how far we have come? Errr – slid?
Alaska had two bywords: “Our state constitution is the best ever and we are not going to make the same mistakes other states have made. We will learn from the other states’ mistakes”; ❤ and “We don’t give a damn how they do it in the lower 48”. And, we were very sincere about this.
Every state should examine “this” Preamble US Constitution and give evidence of fidelity to it. WE need to add back what we lopped off in error.
“What difference does it make now”? She bellowed. The deep state is like the pit state where Satan the devil was consigned.
A New Yorker raised in one of the oldest states will respond pragmatically to things she says he doesn’t understand. My belief is the AK republican is is going to learn, possibly, Trump’s response to all previous now extraneous programming.
Ohhh bad news for Palin, if that’s how she’s going to reason then she has officially lost my vote.
Are we going to wait for proof on this before laying into Palin?
Just wondering.
So—-!? How is our Sarah’s boyfriend, he hasn’t tired of this woman, yet? Now! Our sarah can have a quiet life with him without political interferences. Sarah is finally finished.
Sarah the candidate is not an unknown personality with us. Not a blank slate. We have formed opinions regarding what she brings to the party. She is a public person. We know what to expect always with her. Personalities do not change that much without miracles. I’ve known two people who changed for the better with age. Her current cohorts are available for her predictable, inevitable surprises.
First, she just said she would vote for her – does that even mean second place? I certainly didn’t take it that way. I would just assume she puts her somewhere on the ballot.
Second, let’s wait and see if Begich voters even bothered putting Palin second before we pass judgement.
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