Peltola, two Republicans advance in Alaska House race

Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola (D) has advanced from her primary to the November general election, as expected, for what will be a hotly contested House race this fall, Decision Desk HQ projects.

Republicans Nick Begich and Nancy Dahlstrom were also projected to advance.

Peltola is seeking a second full term representing Alaska’s at-large district after first being elected in a 2022 special election to fill the remainder of late Rep. Don Young’s (R) term after the longtime incumbent’s death. She then won the November general election for a full term in the House. 

Alaska adopted a ballot measure in 2020 to implement ranked-choice voting for future elections, in which voters can order candidates by their preference. The primaries are a nonpartisan blanket primary in which all candidates from different parties compete on the same ballot, and the top four finishers advance to the general election for the ranked choice. 

As the incumbent and only major Democrat running, Peltola advancing to the general election was almost certain.

Dahlstrom received a boost with endorsements from former President Trump and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), along with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). 

Begich, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat against Peltola in 2022, had support from notable conservatives, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). He is the grandson of former Alaska Rep. Nick Begich (D), who held the seat briefly before Young. 

Peltola’s victory two years ago was impressive in a state that is reliably red in presidential races and has not elected a Democratic governor since the 1990s. But the state has a bit of a maverick quality as more than half of all voters are not registered with a political party. 

And the ranked-choice voting system requires candidates to build a wider coalition of voters, including some whose first preference may be someone else. 

Still, Republicans are bullish about their chances to pick up the seat in November after having held it for 50 years with Young in office. They pointed to voters still learning how ranked choice works two years ago and called for Republicans to unify around the goal of ousting Peltola in November. 

Both Dahlstrom and Begich have pledged not to attack each other in the race and rank each other second in the general election. Begich and former Gov. Sarah Palin, who also ran in 2022, spent much of the campaign attacking each other that year. 

Begich went a step further this year in saying he would drop out of the race if he finishes behind Dahlstrom to allow Republicans to unite behind one candidate. He called on others to do the same.

Cook Political Report currently rates the race as “Lean Democrat.”