Voting in Alaska’s special primary to replace the late MP Don Young (D) will close on Saturday as four dozen candidates – including former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin – face unusual new rules. With celebrity status and support from former President Donald Trump, Palin is the most important candidate in a busy space. However, her popularity in Alaska has waned since she became governor, and a new ranking voting system – designed to elect widely supported candidates – could complicate her efforts. The Alaska Republican Party, meanwhile, has backed Nick Begich III, a former Young campaign co-chair from a family known in the Democratic state. He started his candidacy before Yang’s death and ran as the most conservative candidate. “Will America chase celebrity, what could you call celebrity?” Begich said in an interview Friday. “Or will America pursue a sound policy, a thoughtful policy, and a representation that aligns with that?” Palin’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment or comment. Yang’s sudden death at the age of 88 in March kicked off a fight to fill Alaska’s solitary seat in the House. In addition to former Young campaigners, the field includes a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist from the North Pole city, who legally changed his name to Santa Claus. “Special elections as open as Alaska,” the Anchorage Daily News editorial board said. Alaska has reliably favored Republicans for federal office in recent years. But the state also has more undeclared or non-partisan voters than Republicans and Democrats combined, and longtime Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a key vote change in Congress. The people of Alaska voted for the abolition of the traditional qualifying parties in 2020, underlining their independent political series. Now, four candidates will be nominated in a round of voting to elect an independent party. Special qualifiers will be largely by mail, although there are some in-person polling stations – so results may be delayed. Mail ballots must be mailed or received on Saturday – marked “Election Day” by the state Election Department – The earliest. As of Wednesday, more than 117,000 ballots had been received in more than half a million in total, according to election officials. The Alaskans will rank the four finalists in August. If no one gets more than 50 percent of the first ballot, the candidates with the fewest votes will be eliminated in succession and the ballots cast in their favor will be redistributed according to the voters’ preferences. The quirky process could hurt Palin’s chances, given how polarizing it is, said Jim Lottsfeldt, a longtime Alaska-based political adviser working for both parties whose company is working on a super PAC that supports a by Palin’s rivals, Republican Tara Sweeney. . In a May poll by Alaska Survey Research, Palin narrowly ahead in the first round but was eliminated in the rankings. Sarah Palin is a candidate for Congress. Many Alaskans are skeptical of her. Once a popular Alaska governor with a small national profile, Palin extended her political footprint beyond her home state in 2008 when she participated in the ticket of then-Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Palin thrilled the Republican base, but quickly gained notoriety for the mockery of Saturday Night Live. Less than a year after she and McCain lost the presidential election, Palin resigned as governor, a decision that has drawn much criticism from Alaska. He continued to defend the conservative tea party movement and secure a lucrative book deal and reality show appearances. “I think he may have left us somewhere on the road to fame,” a conservative local official, Jesse Sumner, told the Washington Post this spring. Palin announced her candidacy for the Alaska House of Representatives shortly before the deadline for submission, focusing on inflation concerns and the need for “energy security” in a statement posted on social media. “As I watched the far left destroy the country,” he wrote, “I knew I had to join and fight.” Trump announced his support days later, noting that Palin approved him early in his presidential candidacy. On Twitter, Palin also chanted approvals from Donald Trump Jr., conservative radio presenter Dan Bongino, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and others. Begic tried to underestimate the importance of the former president’s decision to enter the competition. “The people of Alaska are very independent people and we will think for ourselves,” Begic said in an interview Friday when asked about the impact of Trump’s support. He stressed his support for Alaska leaders. Santa Claus is considered a real contender to finish in the top four. But the North Pole City Council candidate is only running for the rest of Yang’s term. Other elections will determine Yang’s long-term successor through a qualifying and ranking ballot in August-November. More than 30 people are running. Alaska has the wildest elections of 2022 Claus is not the only liberal candidate in the mix. Anchorage Assembly member Christopher Constant and former Alaska lawmaker Mary Peltola are running as Democrats, among others. Al Gross, who won the Democratic nomination for the Senate in 2020, identifies himself as non-partisan on the special ballot. The field includes several Indigenous candidates who would be Alaska’s first indigenous representative to Congress. This year, the new electoral system has the potential to bolster Murkowski, the moderate Alaskan senator seeking re-election amid attacks from her right. Trump has targeted moderate Republicans across the country for their votes to refer him or confirm his defeat in the 2020 election, and Murkowski voted to oust him last year after his supporters invaded the Capitol. USA. Trump has approved a Senate challenger, Kelly Tsimbaka. But it remains to be seen how much it will affect the fight. Murkowski has survived challenges from her party in the past: In 2010, she won re-election as a candidate for the post after losing the Republican qualifier.
