Peltola leads Alaska's U.S. House race in early results

Nov. 9—Rep. Mary Peltola Election Day

Democrat U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola was leading in first-choice votes after preliminary returns were posted Tuesday night, with over 200,000 ballots counted and thousands still left to be tallied.

Peltola had 47% of first-choice votes with 387 of 402 precincts reporting. Under Alaska's new ranked choice voting system, results aren't final until a candidate has garnered more than 50% of votes. If the leading candidate doesn't cross that threshold, the winner will be determined by second- and third-choice votes, which will be tallied by election officials on Nov. 23.

Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin led fellow Republican Nick Begich III in early vote counts. Palin was in second place with nearly 27% of first-choice votes to Begich's 24%. Libertarian Chris Bye trailed with less than 2% of first-choice votes and stands to be the first candidate eliminated in the ranked choice tabulation.

At a celebration at 49th State Brewing Co., Peltola supporters chanted her name as she greeted them after initial results were released. "I think this transcends politics," Peltola told the crowd, thanking her campaign staff for their effort to mobilize voters across the state. "Every batch of votes that comes in — I'm going to be celebrating."

"I think people are excited to have somebody in electoral politics that isn't interested in tearing anybody down. I think that's been an exciting message," Peltola said. "These kinds of messages have really resonated with Alaskans and Americans."

[Early results show tight race for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat]

At a separate event at the Marriott in downtown Anchorage, Begich said he expected absentee votes would break in his favor and said he is "optimistic" about remaining results. Palin said earlier in the day that she would be deciphering results at her home in Wasilla.

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Palin took to Instagram on Wednesday to react to the outcome, writing "it's not over until the fat lady sings!"

She then criticizing the Alaska Republican Party, which backed Begich. "The GOP establishment deserves losses until it's willing to FIGHT for what is right. They opposed me every step of the way in my Congressional bid, which is par for the course," she wrote.

In the three-way special election held in August, Peltola garnered 40% of first-choice votes, Palin got 31% and Begich got 28.5%. After ranked choice votes were tabulated, Peltola won with 51.5% of votes to Palin's 48.5%.

In the special election, around 30% of Begich's supporters ranked Peltola, the Democrat, second. It's an outcome Begich has taken steps to avoid repeating, including running ads attacking Peltola as an ally of national Democratic leadership figures.

After winning the August special election, Peltola got a significant boost in national attention and campaign contributions that translated to widespread name recognition. It also put a target on her back. Peltola went from having the least money of the three candidates to having a multimillion-dollar lead over her opponents in fundraising.

[Dunleavy holds solid lead for Alaska governor early returns]

The first Alaska Native elected to Congress, Peltola earned support from across the political spectrum, including from Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and former staffers of Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young, whose March death triggered the special election. On the left, Peltola had the backing of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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Both Palin and Begich emphasized in the final weeks of their campaign the "rank the red" message meant to encourage their supporters to rank both Republicans on the ballot in an effort to overtake Peltola. But Begich's family connection to Democrats stopped some of Palin's supporters from ranking him second, despite an endorsement from the Alaska Republican Party.

Palin's unorthodox campaign strategy — which included leaving the state in the final days of the campaign — and celebrity antics kept some of Begich's supporters from ranking Palin second, despite her endorsements from former President Donald Trump and many of his allies on the national stage.

Tuesday afternoon, Palin joined other Trump-endorsed Republicans already casting doubt on the validity of election results nationwide.

"Collectively, residents and states are having questions about how the vote counting is done," Palin said.

But the former governor said she has "all the faith in the world" in the "good bureaucrats" of the Alaska Division of Elections.

"I don't want to make it an issue," Palin said on the integrity of her own election. "Personally, you know, winning solves everything."

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Ahead of the August special election, Palin was adamant about her opposition to Alaska's new ranked choice voting system. She admitted that she had not ranked the other Republican on the ballot and had encouraged her supporters to do the same. But this time around, Palin said she ranked Begich second, as she had been telling her supporters to do in recent weeks.

"It goes against what I had kind of preached and touted the first go-around," Palin said, calling ranked choice voting a "screwy system."

"I still had to say, at the end of the day, in the last month or two — well, it's the cards that we're dealt, it's the rules of the road," Palin said.

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Begich said he ranked Palin second both in August and November and expressed hope that the "rank the red" message would lead the Republicans to overtake Peltola's early lead once ranked choice votes are tabulated.

Palin said that no matter the results of the election — which won't be final for two weeks — she has already begun speaking with members of Congress and is planning a trip to Washington, D.C.

"Regardless, I am going to go to D.C. in the next couple of days and I will speak with them about — even if I don't win — what can I do to help ensure that Americans can trust what's going on in government. That's my mission."

"Even if I lose, I'm not going to be out of it," Palin said Tuesday afternoon.

The ADN's Zachariah Hughes contributed to this report.