Sarah Palin lost the special election in Alaska. Former Governor Palin (R) went up against former Alaska state Rep. Mary Peltola to take on the late GOP Rep. Don Young’s remaining term in the House. Young died suddenly in March.
Many expected Palin to win, making the result (51.5% to 48.5%) a major upset. Peltola, a Yup’ik person, also makes history as the first Indigenous Alaskan in Congress. She is also the first woman to hold the House seat.
Palin, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has yet to concede defeat. Peltola’s apparent victory came after votes were tabulated late yesterday as part of the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.
Twitter responds to Sarah Palin’s defeat
A tweet by actor and LGBTQ activist George Takei about Palin’s defeat has gone viral.
“If a Democrat can win a statewide race in Alaska, Democrats can win everywhere. Congratulations to Mary Peltola on defeating Sarah Palin for Alaska’s Congressional House seat and becoming the first Native Alaskan ever elected to Congress!”
If a Democrat can win a statewide race in Alaska, Democrats can win everywhere. Congratulations to Mary Peltola on defeating Sarah Palin for Alaska’s Congressional House seat and becoming the first Native Alaskan ever elected to Congress!
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) September 1, 2022
His tweet has had over 39k likes at the time of writing.
Related: Sarah Palin appears to be courting the homeless vote in longshot bid for Congress
Others also believe that Peltola’s victory, despite Alaska using a ranked-choice voting system not used everywhere, means Democrats can feel a little more optimistic about the looming midterms.
A Democrat has won a US House Seat in Alaska that was in Republican hands for 49 years.
Mary Peltola just defeated Sarah Palin in Alaska.
The narrative has shifted. #BlueWave
— Aaron Black (@ABlackPolitical) September 1, 2022
Democrat Mary Peltola just defeated Sarah Palin and will take a House seat that has been in Republican control for 49 years.
Wow.
Republicans are truly in the finding out stage.
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 1, 2022
Others had their own hot take.
Sarah Palin, who in many ways started this inane madness, lost. That’s enough of a victory for today.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 1, 2022
This is where Trump blames Sarah Palin for running a terrible campaign, not listening to his advice, and he only endorsed her because someone else recommended her.
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) September 1, 2022
Sarah Palin lost her election. Again. pic.twitter.com/AuErAvDIuI
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 1, 2022
This is now the second time Sarah Palin has lost an election because of Joe Biden. Damn lol.
— Olivia Julianna 🗳 (@0liviajulianna) September 1, 2022
Donald Trump not only endorsed Sarah Palin, he thanked her for the job she did as Vice President during an August conference call.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 1, 2022
Related: George Takei takes down Joe Manchin with one tweet
Peltola, tweeting about her victory, said, ‘Today is a good day,” alongside an image of the result.
It is a GOOD DAY. pic.twitter.com/7IW4hsWZ2P
— Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) September 1, 2022
She then went on to thank everyone who helped her achieve victory.
Thank you to all Alaskans who have put their faith in me as the first woman in Alaska’s history to represent our state in the House of Representatives.
Tonight, we’ve shown that we can win as a campaign that is pro-choice, pro-fish, pro-worker, and pro-Alaska.
— Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) September 1, 2022
Peltola will now face re-election in November as the incumbent Representative. She may face off again against Palin.
LumpyPillows
Perhaps the country is coming to its senses. Still, how anyone as ridiculous as Sara Palin could come this close to being a congresswoman is numbing.
Kangol2
Well, one of the two major parties, the GOP, nominated Palin to be VP in 2008 and she received 59,948,32 million votes (admitted over 9 million fewer than Obama and Biden), so many of us were already benumbed by her absurd rise in politics!
smittoons
I will give those involved credit – it was a cordial race, and Palin’s loss is largely a reflection on how Alaskans felt she had grown out of touch with local issues. But she ran a relatively friendly campaign and seems to personally like and respect Peltola. Hopefully this result is repeated in November when turnout is higher.
abfab
Those three words grouped together. SARAH PALIN LOST Music to my ears.
LumpyPillows
Totally, and a democrat beat her in Alaska….I mean. I didn’t believe it at first.
mickeysaint
Since her loss in a presidential election, she (and let’s not forget her family!!) has been nothing if not an embarrassment to the State of Alaska. From her Tea Party affiliation, to her idiot daughter, to her husband, to her reality tv show. The list goes on and on. She, MTG, Boebert(sp) and their Kind should never be allowed even NEAR Washington, DC. Congratulations to the same people of the State of Alaska for not electing this publicity seeking lightening rod.
ZzBomb
If a Dem just won what was considered a solid GOP seat, November is going to be very bad for Republicans.
Mack
I’m not too sure about that, because there are still areas where idiots still like and believe every lie Trump tells. But I do believe the centrists are fed up with the extreme right wing bullshit and will vote against them. The centrists are not necessarily the Republicans or Democrats but the independents who are not aligned with a party. In Nevada we are pretty much equal as far as the “R’s” and “D’s” but the Independents will decide the elections.
LumpyPillows
Don’t jinx it, but I’m thinking the same.
Invader7
Put out good vibes BLue wins in Nov. 2022 & Nov 2024…. VOTE BLUE !!! And save America from the FASCIST NAZIS in suits aka the GQP !
LakotaGrl
Please remove the slur E$kimo from your article.
She is Yup’ik and Alaskan Native or Indigenous Alaskan, but that other word is a slur that Indigenous people don’t use.
abfab
Let’s see if they take note. And thank you for that, GRL!
Kangol2
Thank you for your response, LakotaGrl!
johncp56
Good she is another moronic grifter, hateful creep in a dress
still_onthemark
Ranked choice voting is a good system. Voters like it when they get used to it.
still_onthemark
Someone in WaPo comments (not me!) said Sarah Palin’s only job recently has been to administer Narcan to family members after they OD. Someone else wrote in to say that’s horrible, you shouldn’t say that, don’t make fun of opioid addiction it’s such a serious subject, etc etc. But I think Queerty readers may enjoy it, tee hee.
abfab
Tee hee? Really?
still_onthemark
@abfab: Lol just didn’t seem sufficient. Palin losing an election brings out the “tee hee” in me.