At the School of Government, an ongoing seminar run by Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries and her husband Noel, a straw poll on Monday night showed a surprising result for the Wasilla area: Nick Begich prevailed over the former mayor of Wasilla Sarah Palin.
The straw poll question was: If the special election to fill Congressman Young’s seat was held today, which candidate would you have voted for?
The options were Nick Begich, Chris Bye, Santa Claus, John Coghill, Al Gross, Andrew Haldrow, John Wayne How, Sarah Palin, Joshua Revak, Jesse Sumner, Tara Sweeney, and “other.”
School of Government straw poll results:
- Nick Begich, R – 29
- Sarah Palin, R – 19
- John Coghill, R – 9
School of Government participants are largely from the Valley, which is a conservative stronghold. They chose all Republicans in the straw poll, but only voted for three of the 16 Republicans that will be on the June 11 special election for the temporary placeholder for Alaska’s one congressional seat.
There are 48 people remaining on the ballot for June 11’s special primary. Of the original 51 who signed up to run, three had dropped out by noon on Monday, which was the deadline for withdrawing.
The School of Government is open to the public and teaches people how to become more informed and involved in the public process.
