Sarah Palin Tells House Opponent to Drop Out of Race

Alaska US House candidate Sarah Palin called on fellow Republican Nick Begich to drop out of the race Monday, holding a news conference in the same place where on a holiday weekend more than a decade ago she announced plans to resign as Alaska's governor. “He keeps calling me a quitter," she told reporters, adding later: "And now he wants me, the one who is clearly the only true conservative in this race who can win, he wants me to quit! Now that's the real joke. Sorry, Nick. I never retreat, I reload.” Monday was the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the November general election, the AP reports. Begich, who was critical of Palin during the campaign, seeking to cast her as a quitter and questioning her motives in running, said Monday his campaign is “confident that we are on a positive trajectory to win in November.”

“Ranked choice voting showed that Palin simply doesn’t have enough support from Alaskans to win an election and her performance in the Special was embarrassing as a former Governor and Vice Presidential candidate," he said in a statement Monday. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, and Begich lost an Aug. 16 ranked choice special election to serve the remainder of the late Republican Rep. Don Young's term to Democrat Mary Peltola. The results were tabulated Wednesday and certified Friday. Peltola led in first choice votes heading into the tabulation rounds, followed by Palin and then Begich. Begich was the candidate eliminated first. Of the Begich voters who ranked a second candidate, 36% chose Peltola and about 64% chose Palin.

Peltola, Palin, and Begich also advanced from the August primary to the November general election, with the winner of that contest to serve a two-year term. They will be joined by Libertarian Chris Bye, after the fourth place finisher in the primary, Republican Tara Sweeney, withdrew. Voters in 2020 approved changes to Alaska's elections process, scrapping party primaries in favor of open primaries in which the top four vote getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election, and instituting ranked voting for general elections. The special House election was the first ranked vote election under the system.

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