JUNEAU, Alaska, EE.UU. — Alaska voters were deciding Tuesday in a hotly contested race for the state’s only House seat that could help decide control of that chamber. They were also choosing whether to repeal the state’s open primary system and ranked-choice general elections, just four years after choosing to try that system.
Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola was seeking to fend off Republican efforts to take back the seat that was held for 49 years by Republican Don Young, who died in 2022. Peltola’s main challenger is Republican Nick Begich, who comes from a family of prominent Democrats and was among the opponents she defeated in regular and special elections two years ago when Peltola, who is Yup’ik, became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress.
In addition to the repeal initiative, the ballot included a measure that would increase the state’s minimum wage and require paid sick leave for many employees, a measure that was opposed by groups including several chambers of commerce and an association of food processors. sea.
Fifty of the 60 seats in the Legislature were up for grabs as well, with control of the state House of Representatives and Senate at stake. The deeply divided House has had difficulty organizing after the last three election cycles. In Alaska, legislators don’t always organize along party lines.
Peltola attempted to distance himself from presidential politics, refusing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris and dismissing any weight an endorsement from her might have anyway in a state that last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964. He presented himself as someone willing to work across party lines and highlighted her role in getting the Biden administration to approve the massive Willow oil project, which enjoys broad political support in Alaska.
Begich, whose grandfather, the late Democrat Nick Begich, held the seat before Young, was endorsed by former President Donald Trump after his primary performance.
Trump’s initial choice, Republican Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom, bowed to pressure from Republicans seeking to consolidate behind a single candidate after her third-place finish in the primary and withdrew. Alaska’s open primary allows the top four candidates to advance. The initial fourth-place finisher, Republican Matthew Salisbury, also dropped out, leaving Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe on the ballot and Eric Hafner, a Democrat with no apparent ties to the state who is serving a prison sentence. 20 years in prison for threatening authorities and others in New Jersey.
Begich, founder of a software development company, attempted to portray Peltola as ineffective in stopping actions taken by the Biden administration that limited resource development in a state dependent on it, including the decision to cancel concessions issued for development. of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Alaska is one of only two states to have adopted ranked-choice voting, and would be the first to repeal it if the initiative is successful. In 2020, Alaskans in a close vote opted to eliminate party primaries in favor of open primaries and ranked-choice general elections. Most registered voters in Alaska are not affiliated with any party, and the new system was presented as a way to provide voters with more options and bring moderation to the electoral process. However, critics called it confusing.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican and Trump critic who has been at odds with party leaders, appeared in an ad supporting keeping primaries open and ranked-choice voting.
Opponents of the system managed to obtain enough signatures for the measure to be placed on the ballot. Begich was among those who supported repeal, and the state Republican Party has also backed repeal efforts.
