(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Peltola wins U.S. House race, first woman and Alaska Native to represent Alaska in House [1] ['James Brooks', 'More From Author', '- September'] Date: 2022-09-01 Democrat Mary Peltola will become the first woman to represent Alaska in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Alaska Native ever to serve in Congress. The former state legislator and current tribal fisheries leader is the first Democrat to win a U.S. House race here in 50 years and will serve the remaining four months of the term left unfinished by the death of Congressman Don Young in March. Peltola defeated Republican candidates Sarah Palin and Nick Begich in ranked choice voting results announced Wednesday, Peltola’s 49th birthday. All three candidates, plus Libertarian Chris Bye, will be on the ballot again in November as they seek election to a full two-year term. “I’m just extremely grateful for the Alaskans who had faith in me and elected me to fill out the remainder of Congressman Young’s term,” Peltola said as she prepared to leave a post-result event, “and I am very hopeful that I can continue his legacy of working for all Alaskans and thinking about how to best meet Alaskans’ needs here during the short seat, but of course, saying focused on November and the two-year seat.” The results remain preliminary, but the number of outstanding votes is not expected to change the results. After the results were announced, Peltola was exuberant, celebrated with supporters and received a congratulatory call from President Joe Biden. Palin denounced the ranked choice voting system, served cake to backers, and called for Begich to withdraw from the race for the full term. Begich said in a written statement that Wednesday’s results match “what pollsters have been telling us for months; Sarah Palin cannot win a statewide race because her unfavorable rating is so high.” Wednesday’s results indicated few Alaskans had problems voting in the state’s first ranked choice election. Only 295 ballots, or 0.15% of those cast, were unable to be counted for at least one candidate. Alaskans for Better Elections, the group that backed the installation of ranked choice voting, called the vote a success. Officials at the Alaska Division of Elections, which ran an intensive education campaign for a year and a half, also were in a celebratory mood about the apparent success of that campaign, whose timeline was compressed after Young’s death triggered a special election. A special pick-one primary election in June — Alaska’s first election to be conducted principally by mail — narrowed a field of 48 candidates to four, and the withdrawal of nonpartisan candidate Al Gross narrowed the options to a final three. Alaskans picked their preferences on Aug. 16, and Peltola led after election day with 39.7% of first-choice votes, followed by Palin with 30.9% and Begich with 27.8%. Palin spoke with reporters and supporters. “We can’t be disheartened,” she said. “In fact, I think God prepared me for an outcome like this, believe it or not. I think God has kind of given me peace all along.” This story was published by the Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/09/01/peltola-wins-u-s-house-race-first-woman-and-alaska-native-to-represent-alaska-in-house/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/