Peltola, 2 Republicans advance in Alaska House race

Alaska Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D) advanced from Tuesday’s primary to the November general election, as expected, for what will be a hotly contested House race this fall, Decision Desk HQ has projected.

Republicans Nick Begich and Nancy Dahlstrom were also projected to advance.

Peltola is seeking a second full term representing Alaska’s at-large district after first being elected in a 2022 special election to fill the remainder of former Rep. Don Young’s (R) term after the longtime lawmaker death. She then won the November general election for a full term in the House. 

Alaska adopted a ballot measure in 2020 to implement ranked choice voting, in which voters can order candidates by their preference. The primaries are a nonpartisan blanket primary in which all candidates from different parties compete on the same ballot, and the top four finishers advance to the general election for the ranked choice. 

As the incumbent and only major Democrat running, Peltola advancing to the general election was almost certain.

Dahlstrom received a boost with endorsements from former President Trump and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), along with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). 

Begich, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat against Peltola in 2022, had support from notable conservatives, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). His grandfather, also named Nick Begich, was a Democrat who briefly held the seat before Young. 

Peltola’s victory two years ago was impressive in a state that is reliably red in presidential races and has not elected a Democratic governor since the 1990s. But the state has a bit of a maverick quality, as more than half of all voters are not registered with a political party. 

And the ranked choice voting system requires candidates to build a wider coalition of voters, including some whose first preference may be someone else. 

Peltola also put up a strong showing in the primary, receiving just more than 50 percent of the vote as of the latest vote count Wednesday morning.

Still, Republicans are bullish about their chances to pick up the seat in November after having held it for 50 years with Young in office. They pointed to voters still learning how ranked choice works two years ago and called for Republicans to unify around the goal of ousting Peltola in November. 

Both Dahlstrom and Begich have pledged not to attack each other in the race and rank each other second in the general election. Begich and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who also ran in 2022, spent much of the campaign attacking each other that year. 

Begich went a step further this year in saying he would drop out of the race if he finishes behind Dahlstrom to allow Republicans to unite behind one candidate. He called on others to do the same.

But Begich finished ahead of Dahlstrom, coming in second with about 27 percent of the vote to Dalhstrom’s 20 percent. And both candidates released statements indicating they intend to stay in the race.

Cook Political Report currently rates the race as “Lean Democrat.”

Updated at 10:09 a.m. ET