Republican Nick Begich has ousted incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola (D-AK), who currently represents Alaska’s at-large congressional district. The victory expands the Republican Party’s secured number of seats to 220, building on the minimum number of 218 seats required for a majority in the chamber.
Peltola managed to flip the seat after a marathon stretch of primary elections, all of which employed ranked-choice voting, in 2022. After beating out Begich and another Democrat challenger in the initial primaries, the Democrat managed to narrowly defeat former Governor Sarah Palin in the final head-to-head matchup.
The seat had been held by the late Don Young, a Republican who had held the seat since 1973, until he passed away in 2022.
Peltola finished first in this summer’s top-four, nonpartisan primary, followed by Begich and Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom, another Republican. The GOP ultimately coalesced around Begich in order to avoid party infighting and focus on unseating Peltola.Begich ultimately managed to unseat his Democratic Party rival by a narrow margin, which is projected to be below 10,000 votes.
The marathon primary cycle was just the second under the state’s ranked choice voting system, though changes to the process will be on the ballot this fall.The Alaska pick-up — which had been targeted as a top priority by House GOP fundraisers — expands the Republican lead in the U.S. House of Representatives by another vote.