Alaska just had a special election for the House seat, in the form of a Ranked-Choice Election..........and the Democrat just won

[jehurey 3,227]

Peltola beats Palin, wins Alaska House special election

By BECKY BOHRER 19 minutes ago

 

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Democrat Mary Peltola won the special election for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat on Wednesday, besting a field that included Republican Sarah Palin, who was seeking a political comeback in the state where she was once governor.

Peltola, who is Yup’ik and turned 49 on Wednesday, will become the first Alaska Native to serve in the House and the first woman to hold the seat. She will serve the remaining months of the late Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young’s term. Young held the seat for 49 years before his death in March.

“I’m honored and humbled by the support I have received from across Alaska,” Peltola said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing Don Young’s legacy of bipartisanship, serving all Alaskans and building support for Alaska’s interests in DC.”

Peltola’s victory, coming in Alaska’s first statewide ranked choice voting election, is a boon for Democrats, particularly coming off better-than-expected performances in special elections around the country this year following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. She will be the first Democrat to hold the seat since the late U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, who was seeking reelection in 1972 when his plane disappeared. Begich was later declared dead and Young in 1973 was elected to the seat.

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In a ranked-choice election, you select your first choice, and then your back up choice, and optionally your third choice.

 

And between the two Republican candidates, the Democrat still won.

 

And no Democrat had won that seat in Alaska in 49 years.

 

So, we are definitely seeing a swing in votes in even the most strongest Republican districts.