Republican Nick Begich has ousted incumbent Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola to win Alaska’s lone House seat, Decision Desk HQ projects. That marks 220 seats for Republicans, surpassing the 218 needed to control the chamber.
A little over two years after Peltola flipped the red state’s at-large congressional district into Democratic control, Republicans coalesced behind Begich to help boost him to another flip.
Peltola finished first in this summer’s top-four, nonpartisan primary, followed by Begich and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R). But Dahlstrom, backed by former President Trump, then bowed out of the race as the party sought to avoid fissures that were seen as paving the path for Peltola in the midterms.
House Republicans’ campaign arm had targeted the Alaska seat as an “offensive pickup” opportunity and named Dahlstrom to its “Young Guns” list, but its chair praised Dahlstrom for her exit. Begich then picked up Trump’s endorsement.
Still, the GOP faced an uphill battle to unseat Peltola, a rare Democrat representing a state that went to Trump in both 2016 and 2020. More than half of all Alaska voters are notably not registered with a major political party.
This cycle is just the second under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, which some top GOP voices have panned as convoluted. A proposal to reverse the system is on the ballot this fall.
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