Results: Sarah Palin has big night, but all-important second spot goes to Nick Begich, as Republicans dominate final four for congressional seat

By
Suzanne Downing
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107

10:30 pm update: 108,981 votes are counted of the expected 140,000 ballots.

9:30 pm update: With 48,736 67,650 ballots counted Saturday night in the special primary election that determines which four candidates will compete for the temporary congressional seat for Alaska, it looks like Sarah Palin is far in the lead, with Nick Begich following, and Al Gross in third place. Mary Peltola is in 4th place. The top four vote-getters will appear on a special general election ballot on Aug. 16, the same day as the regular primary election. Republicans got more than 57% 60% of the vote, while Democrats got 15% 26% of the vote, including Al Gross, a registered no-party candidate.

Some 587,174 ballots were mailed out to voters on April 27. With over 130,000 in, it appears 140,000 is the approximate number of ballots that can be expected. Over 60,000 ballots were returned to the division as undeliverable.

Palin and Begich dominate with over 50% of the vote.

The Division of Elections will release more results later tonight and on June 15, 17, and 21. Check back here.

Vote getters:

Sarah Palin: 32,371, 29.77%

Nick Begich: 20,994, 19.31%

Al Gross: 13,563, 12.47%

Mary Peltola: 8,101, 7.45%

Tara Sweeney: 5,712, 5.25%

Santa Claus: 4,864, 4.47%

Jeff Lowenfels: 4,195, 3.86%

Chris Constant: 3,805, 3.50%

Adam Wool: 1,675, 2.9%

John Coghill: 2,754, 2.53%

Josh Revak: 2,634, 2.42%

Emil Notti: 1,517, 1.40%

Andrew Halcro: 2,158, 1.98%

Check back for updates as we add data.

107 COMMENTS

    • Sweeney a “hard conservative”?

      By the way I am glad to see that Sweeney, Revak and Halcro did so poorly. I sincerely hope they all call it a day and find another line of work.

  2. I just cannot believe people still fall for Palin’s B, S . If she is elected to Don Young’s position she will open her mouth and make Alaska the laughing stock of the nation again, I bet she still can see Russia

    • Those that remember, judge Palin for what she did, not for her political prowess. Nick might become a RINO, but Palin has proven herself and never wavered in what she stands for.

    • Tina Fey said that on SNL, not Palin. I’m no fan of Palin, but at least criticize her for the things she acutely said and did ?

    • Ok Archie.
      Let me guess – you voted for Begich.
      2 things.
      In the Anchorage mayoral election between Berkowitz and Demboski – who did Begich vocally support?
      He supported Berkowitz – think about that – let that sink in.
      Oh, but he a “conservative” because he shoots guns in his political ads?
      Not voting for Palin because of the “circus” around her is like not voting for Trump because he sends mean tweets.

      • DoneWithIt: good point about backing Berkowitz, if true. I personally did not know that. But still don’t like the circus around Palin. I especially don’t like how she tried to become the Kardashians of Alaska. Wish we could do better. Really curious how Nick does in a debate. Personally, if he says there are women and transgender women and they aren’t the same, and he never calls Jan. 6th an “insurrection”, that’s already better than the current RINO we have in the senate. And if he is against the “PRO act” he’ll be better than what we had.

      • Done with it, hey you forgot that your girl endorsed Bill Walker. But you are ok with that, right?

    • What I find bothersome is that there are a lot of people who seem to actually believe that there is a person named Begich in this race who is actually a conservative.

    • I will preface this by saying I’m not a Sarah Palin fan. I was all for her back in the day, but those days are gone and that situation are no longer a consideration. Everyone forgets the chaos that leading up to her election 😉

      However, it’s time to let the “I can see Russia from my back yard” pass for what it was. You absolutely can see Russia from Little Diomede (Alaska) most days and definitely from Cape Prince of Wales on a clear day. I’ve seen it several times while transitting the Bering Strait. She was the Governor, so the entire State could be considered her backyard! LET IT GO!

    • It was Tina Fey who could see Russia – in a sketch by hyper liberal SNL.
      No worries on being the laughing stock of the nation, Biden has secured that position entirely.

  3. I am surprised Sarah is in the lead………..I had just moved to Alaska in 2007, right before she was chosen for VP. I thought she embarrassed Alaska, but thats how I feel. She seems fake. We shall see.

    • I’ve been here since 1990 and I like Sarah. The media did a hell of a job tearing her apart over the years.

    • The era of go-along-get-along RINO milquetoast is over. Just like Trump, Palin is our middle finger in the establishment’s face. I don’t want to make nice. I want someone who will take on the RINOs and Democrats alike. It’s time for another party realignment. I have more in common with traditional liberals (remember Reagan Democrats?) than any RINO parasite.

  5. Will be awesome to watch the leftists and Rinos melt down for now. Then we can watch the Division of Elections work their magic with the ranked choice voting and pull the pre selected Uniparty bunny out of the hat!

  6. First an obvious mea culpa: I predicted the top 4 would be Republicans, lots of votes to count, but that was not to be.
    That said, there are a couple obvious lessons in the results: while there are far more Undeclared and Nonpartisan voters in Alaska, they vote Republican or Democrat, not U nor N. If Gross were serious, he should have filed as a Democrat, it was his choice not to, and with these results he has little or no path to win.
    Peltola is in worse shape, numerically, but at least aligned voters have a chance of knowing for whom they are voting. Voters for both Gross and Peltola are likely to rank Begich for their second or third choice. Will it be enough to carry Begich past Palin?
    I suspect most Republicans will be savvy enough to rank either Begich or Palin as their second choice, and leave their third and fourth choices blank so they are not guilty of carrying a Democrat over the finish line.

  7. Too bad, Chris Constant, you lost. Your reputation seems to have been found out at least statewide.

    • Santa Claus got more votes than Constant. However, it is sad to me that nearly 5,000 people voted for Santa Claus.

  8. Its a humble lesson to the alaskan republican party a need to do a little facelift. Why did palin be appealing, and calling the voters uinformed isn’t correct answer. As for demi’s, its socialist-communism very anti isreal unamerican playbook- well! It stinks! You know what? The republican party and democrat party like america needs to return to its biblical roots. You know most alaskans want to turn back to God, back to americas roots, who made america great. Your atheism has only put our people in an early grave. Attributes of sarah reflect
    our old time patriotic, independent, and christian spirit.
    When was the last time the alaska republicans opened up the bible and used it has its daily light? Check the shelf. As for democrats they more than likely gave their bibles to thrift, and need a new copy. I can’t tell you enough, like reading to your child at all ages, if the partys read bible and live for God by his son, their candidates will have that boost of fiery electric charge.
    and confidence.

    • You don’t think SP is sleeping w/ her millionaire, ex-NY Rangers (hockey) boyfriend, that she “dates” in NYC?
      She is divorced & most likely living in sin. She’s no Biblical Christian.
      She signed a “gay partner” (& others living in sin) health coverage bill for our AK State workers as Governor without hesitation. A true Biblical leader would have vetoed that (there was no “gay marriage” at the time) She is no Biblical Christian.
      She is a religious hypocrite, the kind Christ warned us against

      • Sarah fools everyone with her charm. At least she tries to. She’s an aging Cougar who can’t get enough attention. And George, you are 100% spot on. Sarah is a phony.

  9. I think I like this democratic method of a ballot that offers a vote for nearly everyone… But is also invites political factions where identification with that particular faction impedes the progress and safety of government… There must be compromise with debate at every level…. no voice must be silenced…. The people MUST have the floor!!

  10. I’m noticing that the votes coming in later are less favorable to Palin. Looks like a lot of people who voted early did so for Palin, while people who took time to turn in their ballots voted for Begich. I’d still put my money on Begich to win, especially when debate season comes.

  12. Frankly I’m shocked that Palin came in on top. Evidently there are a number of Starstruck under informed voters in our midst. Oh well, get ready for Alaska’s version of AOC.

  13. Everybody is surprised that Palin is in the lead. That shows you how little they know about Alaska or how long they have been watching Sarah Palin. I met Palin back in the 90’s and have been impressed ever since; and thank you Mark for introducing me to her back then.

    • You must be a lib.
      She raised taxes on our main industry (Bolsheviks love that)
      She signed a bill allowing a persons “domestic partner” (gay or straight & living in sin) to have government insurance equal to married people (a Christian or good conservative would have vetoed)
      She gave away more free $ to the people of AK then any other AK governor (socialist)

    • Ron,
      I’ve been watching Alaska Politics for over 50 years and yes, I am surprised that Palin had such a strong showing.
      Sarah is all about Sarah and being in the limelight. Sorry Ron, we need coherent leadership and Sarah isn’t that.

  16. With Joe Biden’s failed policies and his surrendering of the country’s dominant position on the world stage, I am really surprised anyone could intimate that sending a conservative, who believes in a minimalistic governmnet, to Washington could be construed as an embarrassment to Alaskans

  17. We’re gonna do it. We’re gonna send that carnival barker/used car salesman Palin to Congress.

    We deserve what happens next. The sideshow, the embarrassment, the sidelining of our one House seat.

    Another example of why Alaska can’t have nice things.

  19. Congratulations Sarah!! I trust her to follow Trumps policies a lot more than any of the others. She will win despite all the negative reporting from this and other conservative media outlets.

    • This is literally just a primary. She hasn’t won anything but a spot on the ballot. I can’t wait to see her get destroyed in the debates by Nick!

  20. Mary Peltola is the big winner by making the final four, something no one predicted a month or so ago. Perhaps Democrats realize it’s okay to have a genuinely nice person representing their party, unlike the odious Constant who, unfortunately for Anchorage, can resume his role as Mr. Nasty on the Assembly.

    • If Democrats send two candidates to the general election, as they just might do, then they’ve won big. If half the votes that went to Sarah went to one of the other Republicans then it would have been 3 Republicans and a Democrat who isn’t sure if he’s a Democrat or an Independent. Once again, we’ve failed to understand how to play the game.

      • Steve-O: Interesting. The rank choice is way too confusing and there are too many scenarios where people don’t understand what would happen. It needs to go ASAP. It’s not transparent and straightforward for the voters to understand, and if you ask me, that’s by design. The campaign for Ballot 2 was far too nefarious for me to believe there were good intentions.

        I wonder if it was 3 Republicans getting 60% of the vote and one Democrat getting 40% and the republican voters’ number one rank was split amongst the 3 republicans so none of them would get above 40% number one choice if the Democrat would end up winning much more easily.

        I believe, if no one has above 50%, then they remove all of the number one votes for the person that had the lowest percentage, that would be the bottom republican, and replace those votes with those voters’ second choice. The bottom republican could easily be the one that is the softest towards democrats and moderate, making it more likely that those voters’ second choice is the democrat. The top republican out of 3 would very likely only have 35% of the number one choices, putting the top republican behind the democrat immediately, so the second choices wouldn’t even need to be over 50% for the democrat. And in most cases, in a red state, the Democrat that makes the top four will be the one that is the most moderate and can take the centrists votes, exactly what we are seeing.

        Then the state would end up with a winner that most of the state didn’t want.

        But this isn’t a long game for Democrats because if that scenario ever happens, rank choice will be on the chopping block guaranteed as soon as possible. It probably already is. It hasn’t lasted anywhere except for maybe Washington, as far as I know.

  21. Santa Claus beats out both left & right Jeff & John ! What does that say about politics today? A fairy tale election with 60,000 returned ballots undelivered ? What a joke on our state ! ” Rank ” that for democracy in action. The big LIE was “this is a all mail in election ” when all along early & voting day polls were open to vote in person… shame on you LT Governor & Div. of Elections Director!

  22. The Palin campaign has put a lot of money into ads on YouTube and the radio more than just the traditional signage and mailed out cards. The cards get thrown away and are probably the least effective. The Begich campaign would benefit from more digital advertising. Just observation.

    • “…….The cards get thrown away and are probably the least effective…….”
      Rain, sleet, or snow, you’ll put your hands on it in order to throw it away, and per receiver, Fourth Class mass mail is the cheapest form of propaganda. All the candidates will use it. In fact, everybody except African scammers use it, because if they try, the USPS has an arm long enough and an attitude bad enough to snag ’em and stick ’em in Super Max.

  23. Just goes to show that President Trump still has plenty of clout where backing a candidate is concerned. Only ADN readers would see things different. The last name “Begich” is enough to scare plenty of voters to Palin’s side.

  24. Santa and Jeff Lowenfels beat Constant. Jeez, I wonder how he has been able to do so well un Anchorage elections.

      • I do not wonder about the April elections at all. Constant will likely win again. He does not need that many votes to win his district, and the average voter will just click the incumbent in local elections.

    • He does well in the Anchorage elections because gerrymandering makes his district solidly leftist. Not a perk he can enjoy statewide.

  25. I for golly darn sure can not understand it. On the other hand this election my prove that Andrew Halcro is a true 1 percenter.

  27. God, I’m hoping I’ll be hearing whiners promise that if Palin wins the Congressional seat, that they’ll move to Canada………

  28. The split between Palin and Begich and the deep feelings among their supporters suggest that Mr. Gross is a shoo-in. Sad but people do vote their passions and don’t care what a poor choice will cost them so long as their pride is intact.

    Sad days ahead for Alaska.

    • I think Peltola is going to end up capturing the majority of the rest of the liberal voters and that will hurt Gross enough that it will be either Palin or Begich in the end.

    • He won’t get 50%. Even with Mary’s votes. Gross is done. That’s how ranked choice works. It’s going to be a Republican representing Alaska.

  32. So if you combine the Republican votes, there is a clear majority. Will the real Republicans stick together? or devolve into nasty divisive infighting? Who will the fake Republican that posts here vote for? You all know who I am talking about.

  33. I admit I too am surprised. I voted for Sarah because I know she has truly conservative values. Is she a polished politician? No. Does she screatch a little when talking? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes. Does Trump’s endorsement mean anything to Alaskans? I don’t really think so. So where do we go from here? Sarah and Nick better talk some things through before the next set of ballots go out otherwise conservatives will be the 1st casualty of ranked choice voting.

    • Palin raised taxes on our most important industry, all by herself. (socialist)
      She signed a bill to give our money away to unmarried domestic partners (gay & straight) of AK State workers. (socialist & not Christian)
      She gave away more State money via the PFD (w/her “Palin Bonus) then any other governor (socialist)
      She is very likely “living in sin” w/ her millionaire ex-hockey boyfriend Ron Dugay

      The only thing “truly conservative” about her are her words. But they are just words, she is not “truly” conservative. Watch what she does basin, not what she says.
      Unlike President Trump are actions are liberal.
      PS: she was raised by unionized government workers.

  34. 1675 of Adam Wool’s potheads and drunks actually took the time to thank Adam for all of the great times. ??

    • Why wouldn’t I vote for him? He sent me some free pot with his last campaign brochure. That was generous, considering he soaked everybody good at his old sleazy bar.

    • Chris Constant fared better than Wool. 3800 (3.5%) voters who are either LGBTQ, or support the concept of gay rage, gave a vote to Constant.
      Constant is pretty much a one issue candidate. He probably would have done better if he had campaigned in drag.

      • My neighbor said it was a coin toss between Constant or Coghill. He flipped the coin and it rolled into the gutter. Just like both of these two desperate candidates.

      • Adam Wool is still going to run in the general election for US Congress? Well, he should be the baldheaded, pot-bellied poster-boy for what happens to politicians after a lifetime of drinking and smoking pot.

        • All-Bull Wool. What a loser. His wife should join MADD and all of the mothers who lost sons and daughters from drunk drivers who went to cheap bars and dumped a lot of money on pot-bellied Democrat politicians.

  35. Now would be a good time for Begich to drop out. He performed dismally. Palin did very well. We do not need a split Republican vote! Gross would side with Biden and the other morons in Congress that want:

    1. High oil prices.
    2. High inflation.
    3. Gun Control.
    4. Criminals to run free.
    5. Ruinous open borders.

    Begich. Please. Get. Out.

    • You don’t understand how ranked choice voting works. Begich was second and the distance is closing. He will pull most of Sweeney, Coghill, and Revak’s votes which total more than 10% and will either beat Sarah in round 1 or pass her in round 2.

      Goodbye Sarah!

      • The primary election is not ranked choice voting. You only voted for one candidate- or your ballot would be tossed.

        June 26 is the deadline for candidates to drop out. Begich must do so by then IF he wants to ensure a conservative (Palin) is elected. Yes, Sweeney needs to drop out too. The goal is to NOT have two republicans running against each other- and splitting the vote. This is not hard to understand.

        Begich backed Berkowitz. He’s most likely to try and sabotage the chance of a conservative Republican getting elected.

    • Republicans and conservatives need to spend some small amount of time to try and understand how rank choice voting works. If Begich drops out the 5th place candidate takes his place in the general election, as votes currently sit that would be Tara Sweeney who has about 1/4 of the votes as Begich. In the general, when rank choice takes effect having two or three Republican candidates is better than having one. It’s a stupid system, but it’s the system we have because stupid people refuse to be informed.

      • Problematic, Steve-O, when Republicans and conservatives aren’t allowed to know how their Dominion vote-counting gear’s programmed to count votes.
        .
        And that’s after ballot harvesting and corrupted voter rolls…
        .
        So… fun to speculate about, impossible to understand, virtually impossible to audit… probably why it was forced on Alaskan voters to start with.

        • @Morrigan,
          How do you think Grier Hopkins up in Fairbanks won his election for State House?
          His brother in law Scott Kendall fixed that race. Part of the Hopkins crime family up in the Interior.

  36. So the real news is that if you total up the percentages the best the left can claim is that they got 40.57 percent of the vote……..

  37. Is no one going to mention the “Over 60,000 ballots were returned to the division as undeliverable”? What about the voter fraud? There is NO way Palin got first place! Bad enough she’s RINO, but apparently she’s in cahoots with Biden’s team too! How come there’s only an approximate number of ballots received? Shouldn’t that be easy to tally as they are received? Seems like a great opportunity for ballots to disappear or magically appear with no way to confirm the final tally. The State was even able to text or email people when their ballot had been received, so not being able to immediately state how many were returned is beyond suspicious. The first thing that should have been reported was the number of ballots mailed, the number returned, and the number received. After they are sorted and counted, the State could then identify how many were rejected. Then We The People would be able to see the numbers all add up with the votes received. They think WE are fools!

    • Mr Z Please go take a long nap. It is usually the left that accuses us of what they are doing. Not all of us cheat, it is pretty much a trait of the left. Sarah or Nick will be better that what we had.

    • “Over 60,000 ballots were returned to the division as undeliverable”
      .
      Thanks for reminding us about that Z. Yes. A full investigation must happen to find out why those ballots were not deliverable. If the voter rolls need to be cleaned up, clean them up. If people moved, get new addresses.
      .
      The approx. is not necessarily indicative of fraud, but you are correct. If an accurate number as of a particular point in time is available, it should be reported. Now… if the “approximate” was off by a large amount, that is indicative of fraud. For example, it was reported that approximately 100,000 ballots were counted, but the actual number was 250,000 that definitely requires investigation.
      .
      “The first thing that should have been reported was the number of ballots mailed, the number returned, and the number received. After they are sorted and counted, the State could then identify how many were rejected. Then We The People would be able to see the numbers all add up with the votes received.”
      I could not agree more with this. Nothing would restore trust in the election system/process than that level of transparency.
      .
      Do you know what would be a better way to ensure election integrity? In person voting with photo ID requirements. Absentee ballots only for those that request them with valid justifications. As you point out in your comment, mail in voting is just too ripe for fraud, lost ballots, miscounts, etc… Clean it up. No more mail in voting.
      .
      I think we can work together to get this Z. Let’s make this happen.

    • Yes, there is no reason to continue harping as if your next congressman–or woman–is going to represent you! WOKE to the fact that “our” government is a game for personal gain! Of the people, by the people, for the people–surely, you’re not applying for citizenship, so you needn’t act so naive! I might just vote for Sarah to see her walk onto the U. S. House floor in a pair of black stiletto heels specially outfitted with a set of sharp, silver spurs and hear her say, “Giddy-up, boys! Giddy-up!”

      • Edit: “outfitted” to “fitted”

        “I might just vote for Sarah to see her walk onto the U. S. House floor in a pair of black stiletto heels specially fitted with a set of sharp, silver spurs….”

  38. All you guys talking about splitting the vote need to take 10 minutes and learn how ranked choice voting works.

    You have to clear 50%+ to win. There’s no way Nick and Sarah will “spilt the vote” and get Gross, or anyone else for that matter, elected.

    The most likely scenario is no one will win 50% out of the 4. Mary places 4th. Then all her votes are reallocated. Gross will get all/ most of them. If there isn’t a 50% majority winner (there won’t be) then the third place candidate’s votes will be reallocated. That will be Nick’s or Sarah’s. Then the remaining republican will most likely capture all of those reallocated votes, hurdle 50%, and be our next representative.

    This race is really between Nick and Sarah now and no one else.

    • Bob is correct folks. It’s between Palin & Begich (but not Mark! …. amazing)
      I’ll choose NB3. Sarah Palin is a populist & quite liberal
      1. raised taxes on & hurt our oil industry
      2. Sign a bill giving health care (State $) to all domestic partners of State workers (gay & straight)
      3. Gave away the most PFD money plus her (like me, I’m Sarah bonus)
      This was OK w/ me, but it is a socialist move.
      4. Divorced & most likely living in sin, w/ her NY Rangers, hockey beau.

      • We get you, George! You don’t mind a little bit of socialism, but you are troubled with anybody being divorced and living in sin! It’s a strange, strange world that we live in, Curious George!

  39. Palin will fit right in with MTG and Boebert. Amazing how far a pencil skirt can get a girl…

  40. Sarah was a poor mayor, fiscally irresponsible Governor, brought the oil industry to a stand still with and was a total train wreck as a VP candidate.
    Doesn’t say much for the 30% who voted for her.
    She’s a reality show in the making……

  42. If Nick III is a true “Republican” he will concede and let Sarah carry the R ticket.

    Ranked-choice voting is unconstitutional – and brought to you by democracy-hating liberals. Go figure.

    • If you were a “true” Republican would respect Nick’s right to run for office. You sound more like a fascist to me.

      All this crap about calling for Nick to drop out is total BS. You can vote for a Prima Donna, narcissist if that’s what you want, but maybe some of us actually want to see an adult representing Alaska.

  44. President Trump loves America FIRST at ALL costs. Economic recovery should not be plagued by WEF globalists and won’t be.

  45. Mary Peltola is the best up there, but if Palin wins, I expect a $20K fuel rebate to make it all good.

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