Palin, Begich win big in bid to replace Young; final outcome decided in November

The big wins were by conservatives in the June 11 special mail-in primary election to replace Alaska Cong. Don Young, who passed away March 18. The results weren’t a surprise for election-watches.

Former Gov. Sarah Palin was the big vote-getter with 29.7 percent of the mail-in ballots cast while conservative Nick Begich received 19.3 percent of votes. Money had rolled into both campaigns, in Palin’s case mostly from out of state.

Late ballots received in the mail were still being counted June 12 but the results were clear. About 139,000 ballots had been received as of last week, but more are trickling in.

Two political moderates, Al Gross, a former U.S. Senate candidate, and Mary Peltola, a former state House member from Bethel, netted 12.7 percent and 7 percent respectively of the votes cast.

These are the top four winners among 48 on the ballot in the state’s first “ranked choice” election under a new voting system, where the top four go to a final runoff, in this case in the August primary election. The new system is nonpartisan, although candidates can identify themselves as Republican or Democrat, independent or some other affiliation.

The system is also confusing to many. The four top-winners in the special election face off against each other in August to finish out Young’s term, which ends in January. Candidates are also contending in the regular primary election for Young’s full two-year term. Palin, Begich, Gross and Peltola are also on that ballot.

The top four will again be ranked with the final selection in the November general election.

Meanwhile, the new ranked-choice system also applies to the governor’s race and that for the U.S. Senate as well as legislative races.

For Legislature races the candidate filings seem on par with past years with several races uncontested, usually with the incumbent on the ballot, and most with two or three candidates.

Since most legislative races have four or fewer candidates under ranked choice voting (for the top four) all will go on to the November general election, in which votes will be cast for one candidate for an office.

Thus, the real legislative elections will be those in November. These races are also nonpartisan, similar to statewide races.

The filings for House and Senate seats in the Mat-Su delegation included all incumbent. Senators Shelley Hughes, David Wilson and Mike Shower, all Republican, are seeking reelection. Veteran state House members like Reps. Cathy Tllton, DeLena Johnson and David Eastman, are also seeking new terms. Rep. Chris Kurka is not running for reelection because he is running for governor in opposition to Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

What’s notable in the legislative races are veterans who are retiring, most notably Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Kenai, who was Senate President in the two-year Legislature ending in January, as well as Sen. Tom Begich, D-Anch., who was Minority Leader in the Senate. Both are political moderates skilled at consensus-building. On the House side, House Majority leader Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anch. Is retiring. Tuck is also known for consensus-building who sought to “reach across the aisle” to build coalitions of support for key bills.

Other departures this year include Sens. Natasha von Imhof, R-Anch. and Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River.

Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, D-Anch., is also not running. A moderate Democrat leaning left, Spohnholz is considered a capable legislator who worked with Republicans, such as on health care legislation enacted this year.

Some veterans remain, such as Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, a political moderate who has twice been President of the Senate, and could be in the next Legislature. Veteran Sens. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, and Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, are also seeking reelection.

Several House members are running for the Senate, creating openings for newcomers in the House. Redistricting this year has also put some legislators facing each other, such as in Anchorage where Democratic Reps. Harriet Drummond and Zack Fields are now in the same House district facing each other.

An important Senate race is the rematch in Anchorage between former Senate President Cathy Giessel and Sen. Roger Holland, both Republicans. Holland defeated Giessel in the last election over her support for a modest Permanent Fund Dividend, or one that would not drain the treasury.

Another key Senate rate is on the Kenai Peninsula where Tuckerman Babcock, a Republican activist, hopes to win the seat being vacated by Peter Micciche. Babcock is controversial among Republicans and, because of that, may be divisive among Senate Republicans if he wins.

The partisan lineups in both the House and Senate appear similar, so far, to those in the current Legislature, with Republicans in control in the Senate and a likely larger Republican majority in the House. The question in the House is whether conservative Republicans will hold enough seats to organize that body or whether there will be enough moderate Republicans to again form a coalition with Democrats.