While Alaska’s issues are frequently of concern primarily to Alaskans, in 2024, our at-large House of Representatives election is drawing some significant national attention. Why is this? Partly because the balance of the House of Representatives is at stake and that might come down to a few seats. It’s also partly due to the complications ranked-choice voting (RCV) has introduced – and how both parties here in the Great Land are dealing with it.
Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing, as usual, brings some excellent local analysis:
Cook Political Report, which analyzes races across the country, has shifted the Alaska U.S. House race from the “Lean Democrat” category to “Toss Up,” in the latest ranking.
The change explains why Democrats, who have their own polling, are now suing the state Division of Elections to save the Rep. Mary Peltola, who is facing Republican Nick Begich in the general election, in her reelection bid.
Ranked-choice voting has been a real mess here in the Last Frontier; Mary Peltola is in place largely due to this unnecessarily complex and confusing system that violates the principle of “one man, one vote.” But there’s a key difference between this year and the 2020 election, when Republican Nick Begich III and former Republican vice presidential nominee and governor, Sarah Palin squared off against Mary Peltola. This year, the second-place finisher among GOP candidates for the House seat, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom, withdrew after the primary. While other candidates remain on the ticket – despite the efforts of national Democrats to remove them – it’s now a two-candidate race, for all intents and purposes. […]
— Read More: redstate.com
