Sarah Palin reemerged in Alaska politics more than a decade after retiring as governor in an effort to reclaim the state’s congressional seat. She had numerous advantages, including unprecedented name recognition, the support of former President Donald Trump in a state he won twice, and unrivaled ability to attract national media attention.
Some voters were turned off by her 2009 resignation, and she conducted what some deemed a weak campaign against a Republican backed by state party leaders and a Democrat who ran on a platform of “fish, family, and freedom.”
Palin lost two races for the seat in the House of Representatives that Republican Don Young held for 49 years until his death in March — a special election in August to select who would fill the remainder of Young’s term and the regular election on November 8 for a full two-year term. The election results from November 8 were announced on Wednesday. Mary Peltola, a Yup’ik Democrat, won both ranked-choice ballots and, with her victory in the special election, became the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress.
Since the announcement of the Division of Elections, Palin has made no public statements. Since Election Day, she has taken to Twitter to express her discontent with Alaska’s use of ranked-choice voting in both the summer special election and on Election Day. Last week, she signed a petition for Alaskans for Honest Government, a political action committee that opposes ranked choice voting.
Former state legislator Peltola dodged the sniping between Palin and Republican Nick Begich, who portrayed the former governor as a quitter and self-promoter. Palin said that Begich, who entered the race last fall, months before Palin, and is from a prominent Democratic family, was a “plant” stealing her votes. Begich entered the race last fall, months before Palin, and comes from a prominent Democratic family. Prior to this month’s election, they advocated a “rank the red” campaign in an effort to recapture the seat for the GOP. In the general election, there was also a Libertarian who fell significantly behind.
According to Jim Lottsfeldt, a political consultant linked with a super PAC that supported Peltola, the elections appeared to many as “easy layups” for the Republicans.
Palin, the Republican vice-presidential contender in 2008, might have “run away” with them, he claimed, but she lacked concentration. He listed as errors Palin’s excursions outside of Alaska, including one to New York days before the general election, and “stupid” activities at home, such as a political action committee event that featured a James Brown tribute performer and was attended by few people.
With the losses, according to Lottsfeldt, the once-revered conservative party becomes “kind of old news.”
Conservative strategist Brad Todd stated that Palin “has many of the same qualities as President Trump before he became president. There are already an abundance of President Trump mimics.” According to him, this presents a difficulty for someone like Palin, who has “considerably more competition in her field than she did 12 or 14 years ago.”
“If you’re going to be a mercenary sent to fight major conflicts, you need to win,” Todd added. “This is a difficulty that President Trump will face as well.”
The “anti-elite vernacular” typical of the Republican party, he added, comes naturally to Palin, and two election losses will not prevent her from being “a very strong surrogate for some people if she so chooses.”
Since the election, Palin has committed support for a campaign to reverse a system passed by Alaska voters in 2020 that replaced party primaries with open primaries and implemented ranked-choice voting for general elections. The elections in this year were the first under the system that Palin began criticizing before to the first vote.
Art Mathias, a leader of the repeal push, remarked that Palin had a “vast audience” and will be “invaluable” in advancing the cause.
On Election Day, Palin told reporters she wasn’t sure what she would do in two years if she lost, but that “my heart is in service to Alaskans.” She also expressed a desire to speak with members of Congress about what she could do, even outside of political office, “to guarantee that Americans have faith in the government’s actions.”
Identical to the statements she made in 2009 when she resigned as governor, she made similar remarks in 2014. Palin ascribed her decision to resign on requests for public records and ethics issues, which she claimed had become a distraction.
Palin, a former mayor of her hometown Wasilla, created a sensation in conservative politics when she stepped onto the national arena in 2008 with her down-to-earth approach and witty remarks. She published books, embarked on a speaking tour, appeared on reality television programs, served as a Fox News commentator, and subsequently liquidated a political action committee.
Palin was an early backer of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and made news this year for her unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times.
In a June interview, she refuted opponents’ claims that she had abandoned Alaska, stating that she resides in the state, raised her children there, and is “so Alaskan” that she just hit a moose while driving.
Palin has started creating movies for Cameo, a website that allows users to purchase personalized greetings from celebrities. Hers are listed at $199.
Palin revived her 2008 slogan “Drill, baby, drill” during the House race to call for more oil production. While she and Peltola were friendly, Palin claimed the ranked voting system “produced the travesty of sending a Democrat to Congress to represent Alaska, one of the reddest states in the country.”
Andrew Halcro, a former Republican state representative who campaigned against Palin for governor and was one of 48 candidates in the June special primary for the House, believes that Palin “truly understood and recognized the large number of folks who just don’t like her.” He noted that Palin did little to win them over or recruit Begich supporters.
After the Libertarian, Begich was the second candidate eliminated in the general election. When Begich’s 64,392 votes were transferred in the ranked choice voting tabulation procedure, little over 43,000 went to Palin, while around 21,500 of his voters did not select a second candidate or voted for Peltola, who defeated Palin with 55% of the vote.
However, Halcro stated that he does not see Palin leaving the stage.
“My point is, when have individuals like Palin or Trump ever resigned after losing? They have only escalated their rhetoric “he said.
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