Nick Begich refuses Sarah Palin's request to drop out of Alaska congressional House race

Republican Nick Begich refused former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's request to drop out of the race for Alaska's only congressional seat so that Republican voters could unite behind her candidacy.

"It's time for the GOP to unite, we have to unite behind my candidacy and start today with Nick Begich withdrawing from this race," Palin said at a press conference Monday in Wasilla, Alaska, according to CBS News.

The deadline to drop out of the November election was Monday.

Begich, who sought to cast Palin as a quitter and questioned her motives in running during the primary, said Monday his campaign is “confident that we are on a positive trajectory to win in November.”

"Ranked choice voting showed that Palin simply doesn’t have enough support from Alaskans to win an election, and her performance in the Special was embarrassing as a former Governor and vice presidential candidate," he said in a statement Monday, according to the Associated Press.

Nick Begich: Who is Nick Begich, one of the top three candidates running for Alaska's only House seat?

Both candidates lost Alaska's special election in August against Democrat Mary Peltola to finish the late Rep. Don Young's term until January.

Mary Peltola: Who is Mary Peltola? The Democrat defeated Sarah Palin in Alaska's special election

Begich and Palin will face Peltola again in November's midterm election for the at-large seat.

Voters in 2020 approved changes to Alaska’s elections process, scrapping party primaries in favor of open primaries in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election and instituting ranked voting for general elections.

Ranked choice voting is a system in which people can rank candidates of their choosing on their ballots.

Peltola wins: Democrat Mary Peltola wins Alaska Congress seat, defeating former GOP Gov. Sarah Palin

The special House election was the first ranked vote election under the system.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Palin asks Begich to drop out of Alaska’s congressional race