News/Commentary

Alaska Republican drops out of race. Here’s how that may affect Democrats nationally

August 24, 2024 | | Print Article

A Trump-backed candidate withdrew from a U.S. House race this week in what is turning out to be a huge win for Republicans.

Yes, it’s true that Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom had been backed by former President Donald Trump in her quest to win the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House.

But it’s also true that Dahlstrom’s candidacy had been dragging down the candidacy of fellow Republican candidate Nick Begich III, who’d been outperforming her for months.

But with her out of the race, Begich now stands a legitimate chance of defeating incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola — and Dahlstrom fully recognizes this too.

“I entered this race because Alaskans deserve better representation than what we have received from Mary Peltola in Washington,” she said in a statement. “At this time, the best thing I can do to see that goal realized is to withdraw my name from the general election ballot and end my campaign.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Begich previously lost in 2022 against Peltola precisely because he’d been dragged down at the time by fellow Republican candidate Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska. She, too, had been endorsed by Trump.

Part of the problem is that Alaska engages in ranked choice voting — a voting system wherein “the candidate to gain the majority of the votes is not necessarily declared the winner,” according to Fox News.

“That aspect was front and center in the first general election race Peltola won to succeed five-decade Republican Rep. Don Young, who died in office in 2022 at 88,” Fox News notes. “Peltola defeated both Begich and former Gov. Sarah Palin, who had both run as Republicans.”

“Though the two GOP candidates garnered more votes than Peltola, she was named the winner after the hierarchical rounds of ranked choice vote tallying concluded. Under the system, the lowest vote-getter is eliminated, and that candidate’s voters’ ‘second-choice’ votes get tallied instead, and so on.”

Begich responded to Dahlstrom dropping out by thanking her for her service and praising her for running a “strong campaign.”

“Today we move forward unified in the effort to replace Mary Peltola, who has proven by her alignment with the left that she is not the moderate she claimed to be,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to travel Alaska to earn your support and take Alaska’s incredible story to our nation’s capital. North, to the future.”

Meanwhile, Peltola’s campaign manager Elisa Rios responded to Dahlstrom dropping out by releasing a self-serving statement praising her boss.

“Mary was so proud to have received more than 50% of the vote last Tuesday when many voters probably assumed she would be moving forward to the general election without their votes,” she said in reference to a recent primary election.

“Alaskan Democrats, Republicans, nonpartisans/undeclared voted for fish, family, freedom, and Mary’s record as the incumbent in the race who actually delivered Willow, hundreds of millions of dollars for the rail belt energy grid, a ban on Russian trawled fish, and thousands of good-paying Alaskan jobs. We think voters will make the same choice this November,” she added.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is, for its part, very happy with Dahlstrom’s decision to drop out.

“Nancy Dahlstrom has led a life of service and I want to thank her for stepping into the arena this year,” committee chair Richard Hudson said in an emailed statement to ABC News. “Her selfless decision today puts Alaskans and the team first, allowing voters to unite around a single Republican.”

Vivek Saxena
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