After coming in third to U.S. House Rep. Mary Peltola and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in last year’s special and subsequent regular elections, Republican businessman Nick Begich announced today that he will give it another go.
In social media posts today, Begich became the first major candidate to announce his run against the incumbent Democratic Rep. Peltola. Peltola has already announced her intention to run for re-election. Her election last year made her the first Alaska Native in Congress.
“What we are seeing in Washington is broken: lost opportunities for Alaskans, a focus on so many of the wrong priorities, big government lobbyists and insiders who are selling our nation to the highest bidder, and a President who often can’t find his own way off a stage,” said the businessman whose multimillion software company employs none in Alaska. “It’s clear, we don’t have the voice we need in Congress, and I believe it’s time we restore that voice: for our families, for our communities, and for our future. That’s why, today, I’m announcing my run for U.S. House.”
Begich ran a largely self-funded campaign in 2022, announcing his candidacy well before longtime U.S. Rep. Don Young died unexpectedly. Begich positioned himself as a far-right conservative alternative to Young, complaining that Young was too friendly with Democrats.
The elections were also the first test of Alaska’s new open primary and ranked-choice voting system. The open primary meant that multiple candidates from the same political party can advance from the primary to the general election, which is then conducted with a ranked voting system that ensures a candidate finishes with a majority of voter support.
Despite getting the official backing of the Alaska Republican Party, it was former governor Sarah Palin who outperformed Begich throughout the course of the two elections. That led to bitter infighting between the two candidates—with Palin suggesting she would rather support Peltola than Begich at several opportunities—that Peltola capitalized on with a more moderate and positive message for voters.
After Begich was eliminated in the first round of the special election’s ranked-choice voting tabulation, nearly half of his voters voted for Peltola or no one. By the time the regular election rolled around, Peltola’s popularity was insurmountable, and she finished with nearly 50% of the votes before any of the ranked-choice voting tabulations were conducted.
Once it was completed, Peltola finished with 55% of the vote.
Begich never crossed the 30% mark.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
