The race for the U.S. House of Representatives in Alaska is coming to a close as the first votes come in

Updated: 30 minutes ago Published: 37 minutes ago

Republican challenger Nick Begich III was narrowly ahead of Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska's U.S. House election, with 44% of precincts reporting as of Tuesday evening. The final result likely won't be announced until Nov. 20, when Alaska election officials will compile ranked-choice voting results.

Begich had 49.7% of the more than 102,000 votes counted as of 9 p.m. Tuesday, while Peltola had nearly 44.5%.

If the top voter does not receive more than 50% of the votes, the election will be decided on a ranked list. Many votes from predominantly Alaska Native areas of the state where support for Peltola is strongest have yet to be counted.

Alaska's lone U.S. House seat is considered one of a handful of seats that could be won by either a Republican or a Democrat. Millions of dollars were spent by out-of-state groups and donors to support both Begich and Peltola as the parties sought control of the chamber.

That led to a campaign that was markedly different from the 2022 campaign, when both Peltola and Begich ran in the election. But the appearance of another Republican on the 2022 ballot — former Gov. Sarah Palin — prompted the two Republicans to devote much of their energy to attacking each other. That allowed Peltola to win two years ago with virtually no negative campaigning.

This year, Begich and other Alaska Republicans urged another top GOP member scheduled to appear on the November ballot — Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom — to drop out of the race after the August primary. That paved the way for a traditional contest between Republicans and Democrats that amounted to weeks of nonstop attack advertising.

Dahlstrom's exit from the race, along with the exit of another top-ranking Republican, cleared the way for two unexpected congressional candidates to appear on the ballot in November.

John Wayne Howe, chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party, campaigned for the abolition of most forms of taxation and questioned Alaska's statehood. Eric Hafner, a serial Democratic candidate, was allowed to appear on the ballot despite serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison in upstate New York. Hafner never lived in Alaska and never visited. Strict restrictions on communication in and out of prison meant he was virtually banned from campaigning. None of the candidates raised money for their campaigns.

On site, Begich and Peltola offered different plans for their work in the US House of Representatives. Begich envisioned himself as a supporter of the Trump agenda, voting for policies favored by the Republican presidential nominee and working to promote new extractive projects in the state.

Peltola initially supported President Joe Biden in the presidential election, but then refused to support Vice President Kamala Harris when she took his place as the Democratic presidential candidate, instead promising that while she wouldn't vote for Trump, she would try to do the same Winners to work together White House.

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