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    Mary Peltola, a Democrat, Defeats Sarah Palin in Alaska’s Special House Election

    In an upset with the potential to reverberate nationally, Mary Peltola has won a special House election in Alaska, according to The Associated Press, and will finish the remaining few months of the term of Representative Don Young, who died in March after serving nearly 50 years as his state’s lone congressman.Ms. Peltola, a Democratic former state lawmaker and Alaska Native, defeated two other candidates who survived the raucous special primary election in June: Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee, and Nicholas Begich III, a Republican from the state’s most prominent Democratic political family. Voters participated in a new system, ranking the three in order of preference.Ms. Peltola’s victory adds to a series of recent wins for Democrats, most notably the special election for New York’s 19th Congressional District. Democrats have grown more confident about their chances of holding on to the Senate in November as Republicans squabble among themselves, although most acknowledge that retaining control of the House will be more difficult.David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama who is now the director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, said Ms. Palin’s defeat and the Republicans’ loss of Mr. Young’s seat “would be read as a huge victory for Democrats and defeat for MAGA Republicans.” He added: “Obviously, there are mitigating factors that should temper the impulse to generalize.”At 49, Ms. Peltola will become the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and the first woman to hold the House seat, albeit only temporarily — unless she wins a full term in November.She ran a relentlessly upbeat campaign that implicitly contrasted her reputation for kindness with the bombast and penchant for drama associated with Ms. Palin, even though the two women have been friends since serving together in the Statehouse as expectant mothers. They even exchanged text messages on the day of the general election for the temporary seat, with Ms. Palin advising Ms. Peltola to dress warmly for her final round of canvassing.“I think respect is just a fundamental part of getting things done and working through problems,” Ms. Peltola told reporters as the first votes rolled in on Aug. 16.Al Gross, an independent candidate who previously ran for Senate in 2020 against Dan Sullivan, a Republican, dropped out after the primary and endorsed Ms. Peltola, who also finished ahead of write-in candidates, including Tara Sweeney, a former Trump administration official.Ms. Peltola cobbled together a winning coalition in the special election by appealing to the same independent streak and devotion to Alaskan interests that Mr. Young was known for. Her father and the longtime congressman were close friends, and, as a young girl, she would tag along as he campaigned for Mr. Young. But she sharply diverges from Mr. Young and her top Republican opponents, including Ms. Palin, in her support for abortion rights, her concern about climate change and her calls for developing Alaska’s resources with greater sensitivity to the needs of local communities.Ms. Peltola has sought to highlight her Native roots in a state where more than 15 percent of the population identifies as Indigenous. As a Yup’ik woman, she said, she has sought to use the teachings of her community in her broader appeals for bipartisanship. “Dry fish and pilot bread — that is how I got other legislators in the room when I was rebuilding the bipartisan Bush caucus,” she said in an ad introducing herself to voters. (“Bush caucus” refers to a group of legislators from rural Alaska.)Ms. Peltola served in the Alaska House from 1999 to 2009 before becoming the executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which works with tribes to manage salmon resources. She has also served as a councilwoman in Bethel, a small city in western Alaska, and as a judge on the Orutsararmuit Native Council Tribal Court.She made that experience central to her campaign message, a uniquely Alaskan appeal to voters in a state where many rural communities depend on reliable stocks of fish for their very subsistence. Ms. Peltola’s ads were critical of out-of-state trawlers — high-volume fishing ships, often from China or Russia, that sweep up prized salmon and halibut along with lower-value species such as pollock.The Supreme Court’s move in June to overturn Roe v. Wade was another major theme of Ms. Peltola’s campaign. More than 60 percent of Alaskans favor abortion rights, breaking with the position held by Republicans like Ms. Palin, who hailed the decision as a victory for states’ rights. Abortion remains legal in Alaska, though the law requires that a patient receive counseling intended to discourage the practice.Ms. Peltola will face voters again this fall as she tries to retain the seat in Congress beyond the remainder of Mr. Young’s term.Voters in November will rank their choices from the top four finishers of the regular primary on Aug. 16. Ms. Peltola finished ahead of Ms. Palin in that primary, followed by Mr. Begich.Ms. Palin’s defeat in the special election is likely to raise doubts about her viability in November.Former President Donald J. Trump visited Anchorage in July to hold a rally for Ms. Palin, whose campaign was being managed by one of his longtime political lieutenants, Michael Glassner. Mr. Trump hailed her as “legendary.”At that rally, Ms. Palin attacked Mr. Begich, her chief Republican opponent, as a “RINO,” or Republican in Name Only. And she nodded in jest to the complaints of her critics, who have accused her of erratic behavior and of abandoning the state after her 2008 loss.“We have been mocked and ridiculed and falsely accused and told to sit down and shut up,” she said. “The stuff that you’ve heard about me — it’s a lie. I’m way worse than what you’ve heard.”Mr. Trump expended most of his energy at the rally attacking Senator Lisa Murkowski, who broke with him frequently on abortion and other issues and who voted for his impeachment after the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Both Ms. Murkowski and Kelly Tshibaka, whom Mr. Trump endorsed, advanced in the state’s Senate primary race and will face off again in November.Mr. Trump is a divisive figure in Alaska, which has long had an independent streak. He remains highly popular among hard-core Republican voters but has alienated thousands of more moderate Republicans and independents.Although Mr. Trump won Alaska by 10 percentage points in 2020, besting Joseph R. Biden Jr., those results represented a decrease from his commanding 15-point victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.Mr. Trump’s waning overall popularity has led some analysts to speculate that his endorsement of Ms. Palin could do as much to mobilize his political opponents against her this fall as it could to help her. And Ms. Palin’s starkly low approval ratings in her quest to win Mr. Young’s former seat permanently indicate that another candidate might squeak through in November. If the special election and Aug. 16 primary results are any indication, Ms. Peltola appears well positioned to do so.Jazmine Ulloa More

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    Mary Peltola, the Democrat Who Could Become the First Alaska Native in Congress

    For 50 years, Alaska’s lone House seat was held by the same larger-than-life Republican — a sharp-edged congressman with a history of incendiary remarks.The woman leading the race to replace Representative Don Young after Tuesday’s electoral contests is in many ways his opposite: a Democrat with a reputation for kindness, even to the Republicans she is trying to beat.On Election Day, Mary Peltola, 48, exchanged well wishes over text with her more famous and more outspoken Republican rival on the ballot, Sarah Palin. The two have been close since they were both expectant mothers working together in Alaska’s Statehouse, Ms. Palin as governor and Ms. Peltola as a lawmaker.“I think respect is just a fundamental part of getting things done and working through problems,” Ms. Peltola told reporters Tuesday, explaining her approach to campaigning as the first vote tallies rolled in.Ms. Peltola, 48, was leading Ms. Palin, 58, in unofficial results on Wednesday, a strong showing that thrilled and surprised Democrats eager to see her become the first Alaska Native in Congress and the first woman ever to hold the seat.Ms. Peltola, who is Yup’ik, is seen as having the same independent streak and devotion to Alaskan interests as Mr. Young, who died in March. Her father and the longtime congressman were close friends, and, as a young girl, she would tag along as he campaigned for Mr. Young. But she sharply diverges from Mr. Young and her top Republican contenders, including Ms. Palin, in her support for abortion rights, her understanding of fishing industries, her clear warnings about climate change and her commitment to sustain communities over corporate interests in developing Alaska’s resources.“Mary has a real shot at this,” said Beth Kerttula, a Democrat and former minority leader of the Alaska House who served with Ms. Peltola in the State Legislature.The winner of the House race could remain unknown for days or even weeks as Alaskan election officials continue to count mail-in ballots sent from some of the most far-flung reaches of the state.Ms. Peltola took 38 percent of the vote in the special election to fill the House seat through January. She is ahead of two top Republicans: Ms. Palin, the state’s former governor and Senator John McCain’s 2008 running mate, and Nick Begich III, a businessman and son of the best-known Democratic family in Alaska politics. Ms. Peltola was also leading Ms. Palin, Mr. Begich and 20 other candidates in a second, separate primary race to fill that seat beyond 2023. If she wins the special election to fill the seat immediately, she will have an incumbent’s advantage in the general election in November.Ms. Peltola has sought to highlight her Native roots in a state where more than 15 percent of the population identifies as Indigenous. As a Yup’ik woman, she said, she has sought to use the teachings of her community in her broader appeals for bipartisanship. “Dry fish and pilot bread — that is how I got other legislators in the room when I was rebuilding the bipartisan Bush caucus,” she said in an ad introducing herself to voters. (“Bush caucus” refers to a group of legislators from rural Alaska.)On Tuesday night, Ms. Peltola mingled with a couple dozen supporters at a brewery in central Anchorage. She embraced relatives, campaign workers and longtime friends who had served with her in the Legislature. “I’ve really been an advocate of thinking beyond partisanship and seeing people beyond party lines,” she said in an interview. “I think Alaskans are very receptive to that. We often vote for the person and not the party.”Ms. Peltola — the only Democrat in the 22-candidate primary — served in the Alaska House from 1999 to 2009 before becoming the executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which works with tribes to manage salmon resources. She has also served as a councilwoman in Bethel, a small city in western Alaska, and as a judge on the Orutsararmuit Native Council Tribal Court.She has had a sharp rise in the public eye since she came in fourth out of 48 people in a June special-election primary. The candidates included Ms. Palin, Mr. Begich and even a councilman legally named Santa Claus. Al Gross, an independent who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2020 and came in third, soon dropped out of the race and endorsed Ms. Peltola, helping clear her path for a strong performance on Tuesday.Democratic and Republican pollsters and strategists said Ms. Peltola’s lead in the race stemmed from her focus on forging a coalition across class, party and ethnic lines, the skepticism of Ms. Palin’s political comeback and the bickering between Ms. Palin and Mr. Begich in the campaign. Another advantage was the new, complex voting system that allowed voters on Tuesday to rank their preferences in the special election and was widely seen as designed to favor more centrist candidates.Leaving a polling location in South Anchorage, Maeve Watkins, 52, a nurse, and her 20-year-old daughter, Isabelle, a university student, said they were drawn to Ms. Peltola for her strong stance on abortion rights and her pledges to protect Alaska’s resources.“She is a quiet force,” Ms. Watkins said. “She is such a good listener. She’s all about kindness and hearing from everyone, but, at the same time, she has a backbone.”Maggie Astor More