Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska on Thursday congratulated Democrat Mary Peltola on her victory in the special election to fill the vacant House seat representing the state.
Peltola on defeated two Republicans, former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Nick Begich, to serve the remainder of the late Rep. Don Young’s (R) term. Young held the seat for almost half a century before his death in March.
Murkowski noted that Peltola’s victory made state and national history, as she will become the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress.
“While it will be impossible for Alaska to replace Congressman Young, Mary has a long track record of public service to our great state — including our time working together in the Alaska State Legislature — and I look forward to her join Senator Sullivan and I as we advance Alaska’s priorities over the coming months,” she said in a statement.
Peltola and Murkowski served in the Alaska state House together for a few years before Murkowski became a senator.
Sullivan said he hopes to be able to work with Peltola over the next four months on the “issues that truly matter to our state,” like inflation and energy costs, using Alaska’s natural resources with “much-needed” infrastructure and achieving sustainable and healthy fisheries for all residents.
“The three-person Alaska congressional delegation has a long and distinguished record of working together to advance and defend the interests of Alaskans, despite not always agreeing on different aspects of politics and policy,” he said.
Peltola will face Palin and Begich, the former co-chairman of Young’s 2020 reelection campaign, again in a general election to hold the seat for the next two years in November. She won the special election in the state’s first ranked-choice vote, in which voters could list the candidates in order of their preference.
Peltola led after the first round of the election revealed voters’ first preferences but did not obtain a majority necessary to win outright. Palin came in second in first-place votes, and Begich came in third.
Begich was then eliminated, and his votes were redistributed according to the second preference of his voters. Peltola defeated Palin in the second round by about 3 percentage points.