Murkowski had expressed confidence she would advance and earlier in the day told reporters that “what matters is that we win in November.” Tshibaka called the results “the first step in breaking the grip of the Murkowski monarchy on Alaska.” A Murkowski has held the Senate seat since 1981. Lisa Murkowski, who has been in the Senate since late 2002, was preceded by her father, Frank Murkowski. Murkowski was one of only seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial after the riot on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. Under a voter-approved election process being used for the first time in Alaska elections this year, party primaries have been eliminated and ranked-choice voting is being used in the general election. The top four vote-getters in a primary race, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election. Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, center, appears at her re-election office opening in Juneau on Aug. 11. (Becky Bohrer/The Associated Press) The other two seats in the Senate race were too early to be announced. In the House primary, Democrat Mary Peltola, Palin and Republican Nick Begich advanced to the November election. It was too early for fourth place. The winner of the November race will be elected to a two-year term. Peltola, Begić and Palin were also vying in a special election to serve out the late congressman’s term. Don Young’s term, which ends early next year. Young died in March. The special election was voters’ first shot at ranked-choice voting in a statewide race. The winner of the special election may not be known until at least August 31. The special election was on one side of the ballot. the other side featured primary races for the US Senate, US House, governor and lieutenant governor, and legislative seats.
Palin creates new electoral system
Palin, in a statement Tuesday night, called it “the first test case of the crazy, complicated, undesirable ranked-choice voting system.” Begich, a businessman from a family of prominent Democrats, railed against Palin during the campaign, seeking to paint her as a fame-seeker and quitter. Palin resigned during her term as governor in 2009. A narrator in one of Palin’s ads refers to Begich as “Negative Nick” and says Palin wants to serve in Congress “to carry Don Young’s torch.” Peltola, a former congressman who recently served on a committee aimed at rebuilding the Kuskokwim River salmon stock, has been described as a “regular Alaskan” and consensus builder. In the Alaska governor’s race, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy advanced, as did former Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, and Democrat Les Gara. It was too early for fourth place. Dunleavy and his running mate, Nancy Dahlstrom, said in a statement that “it’s just the beginning of the race. We’ll be looking at all the numbers as they come in over the next few days to find out where we need to step up campaigning, and we look forward to getting to each Alaska and win their vote between now and November.” Walker runs with Heidi Drygas and Gara with Jessica Cook.
