According to CNN, “Democrat Mary Peltola won the special election to fill Alaska’s House seat for the remainder of 2022, according to unofficial results released by the Alaska Division of Elections, thwarting former Gov. Sarah Palin’s bid at a political comeback — at least for a few months. Peltola emerged as the victor Wednesday when Alaska’s Division of Elections tabulated ranked-choice ballots in the state’s first use of the system. With her victory, the former state lawmaker will flip the seat held for nearly half a century by the late GOP Rep. Don Young, and is set to become the first Alaska Native in Congress [emphasis added].”
Even I must concede that this is a huge victory, and it shakes my contumacious belief that Democrats have no chance of keeping the House for the midterm election. Peltola’s win could be an artifact of ranked-choice voting whereby most people’s second-choice preference prevailed. Or maybe people are more pissed and energized about abortion rights and the like than I thought. I need more evidence before I change my opinion. Welcome to stupid America — it could be me.
Actually, after further review, it seems this win was more significant than I first thought. Peltola lead the vote count after the first round, which means she was always in the lead and many of those who did not vote for Palin as their first choice also did not pick Palin as their second choice; they voted for Peltola.