Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom was never in danger of being eliminated in the state’s open primary election for the U.S. House, but the race was still a critical test for the Trump-endorsed candidate to prove her viability.
After a disappointing third-place finish behind Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican businessman Nick Begich, where she finished with just below 20% of the vote, she announced today that she was withdrawing from the general election.
“I entered this race because Alaskans deserve better representation than what we have received from Mayr Peltola in Washington,” she said in a prepared 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.”
Dahlstrom was the party-favored Republican in the race and was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Heading into election day, Dahlstrom’s campaign had been running an ad blitz highlighting the former president’s endorsement, though it aligned with his slump in the polls.
Since her finish, conservative media in Alaska and beyond had pushed Dahlstrom to drop out, clearing the way for Begich to take Peltola on in a head-to-head race. Her statement thanks Gov. Mike Dunleavy and several national Republican leaders who had boosted her candidacy.
She does not refer to Begich.
Peltola, who saw a meteoric rise to office in a chaotic 2022 special election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Don Young, received 50.36% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary. It’s an impressive number that, if she can repeat it in the general election, will take the uncertainty around ranked-choice voting out of the picture.
Begich won about 27% of the vote in the primary. He finished third in the 2022 special and regular elections for the U.S. House, behind Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin, when open primaries and ranked-choice voting were first used in statewide elections.
The 2022 elections saw Republicans struggle with the strategy behind ranked-choice voting. Begich and Palin were primarily focused on attacking each other in both races, while Peltola stayed above the fray and ran an entirely positive campaign. Republicans were also slow to adopt a “Rank the Red” campaign that urged voters to rank all Republicans regardless of their preference.
In the wake of Dahlstrom’s withdrawal, the fifth-place candidate from the primary would advance to the general election with Peltola, Begich and fourth-place candidate Republican Matthew Salisbury, who got 0.62% of the vote with 602 votes. According to the latest results, the fifth-place candidate is Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, who got 0.57% of the vote with 547 votes.
However, that switch only happens if Dahlstrom officially withdraws 64 or more days before the general election, Sept. 3.
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.
