For the first time in 50 years, Alaska is represented by a Democrat in the U.S. House. Congrats to Congresswoman Mary Peltola, who is the first Alaska Native person serving in Congress, filling out the rest of the late Don Young’s term through the end of the year.
On the Republican side, it’s time for a searching election post-mortem: What just happened? Many on our side are frustrated with the state’s new voting method, which combines open primaries and ranked choice voting (RCV). Regardless, being angry at a standing law does not win elections — strategy does. Without question, Republicans will look to change up their approach to RCV between now and November.
Republicans would have won if more Nick Begich voters had “ranked the red” — the catchy slogan used by the Alaska GOP encouraging voters to rank only Republicans — and had ranked Sarah Palin second on their ballots. Most did, showing conclusively that Republicans will use RCV. Palin dramatically shrunk the margin in the RCV count, from eight points to a final loss by just three points.
But Palin didn’t rank her own ballot and repeatedly encouraged others to “bullet vote” (vote for only one candidate) as well.
The two Republican candidates also repeatedly took swipes at each other, making themselves less appealing to fellow Republican voters who might have ranked them second with some prodding.
As a result of these campaign styles — and a whole lot of Alaska political dynamics — a full half of Begich voters either ranked Peltola second or chose not to rank at all. The closeness of the race — and Republicans’ huge gain once the second-choices kicked in — is a reminder to be pragmatic and use the system to our advantage in November.
I’m not a big fan of ranked choice voting, and in 2020, I actually worked to defeat Ballot Measure 2 — the citizens’ initiative that created Alaska’s new open primary and ranked choice system. But we lost, and the system is in place. It’s the law of the land today.
If Alaska Republicans haven’t already, it’s time to take a deep breath, shake off the loss, and figure out how to win in November. Those elections will be far more important: the contest for the full two-year term in Congress (with Palin, Peltola, and Begich on the ballot again), the senate and governor’s races, and 59 state legislative races.
From this race and RCV contests in Utah, Virginia, and other states, there are some pretty clear, pragmatic steps on how to win an RCV race. First, Republicans should explicitly communicate to voters that they should use their rankings and “rank the red.” In particular, it’s worth noting that 21 percent of Begich voters didn’t rank any second choice at all; if these roughly 11,000 voters had ranked Palin second, they would’ve put her over the top.
Second, campaigns should model the behavior they want to see in voters. That means candidates should take the time to explain the current voting system to their supporters and encourage them to rank someone other than just their favorite candidate. Truly, Republican candidates should ask their voters to think of each round of voting differently: Is their second choice someone they could live with? And who will do less harm on a particular issue or whatever they are most concerned about?
In what would be a refreshing change during the political season, candidates could even show areas of common ground with their opponents. Politics will never become sunshine and rainbows, but candidates like Begich and Palin can highlight where they agree on the issues — and where they both differ from Democrats.
The message to their respective bases? Rank me first, but you can rank the other candidate second.
Alaska remains majority-conservative. If Republicans get this right in November, ranked choice voting can produce better results. It will prevent a Democrat or independent emerging from a crowded field and winning a race with less than 50 percent, as has happened in past Alaska elections.
But — whether it’s better campaigns, better candidates, or better communication — we Republicans need to make sure right-leaning voters know what to do. And we must stick together. We may not love the new rules, but we have to play by them. And there’s a playbook for how to win.
For now, it’s time for Alaska conservatives to embrace three words as our mantra: “Rank the red.”
Sarah Erkmann Ward is the president of Blueprint Alaska, an advocacy and strategic communications firm located in Anchorage. Blueprint Alaska has a contract with Alaskans for Better Elections, which is working to inform Alaskans about how to rank choice vote — this piece is not a part of that effort.