No matter what people say about the political contest taking place in Alaska – and people have plenty to say – there is one thing about which they all agree: that the race for the sole congressional seat will be the most open for half a century.
The most obvious reason for this is that the person who held the seat for 49 years, Republican Don Young, who was first elected in 1973, died in March. It was his death at the age of 88 that triggered the special election to replace him, a contest that has so far attracted around 50 candidates.
Interest in the election has partly been attributed to the a new open primary system, which has been adopted for the first time.
In June, voters will cast their ballots and the top four names will go forward to the run-off, or general election, that will make use of ranked voting.
Attention to the race has no doubt intensified because one of those running is Sarah Palin, 58, a former mayor of Wasilla who then served as the 9th governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009.
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The outspoken populist is probably best known for having served as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee alongside Arizona Senator John McCain, the first woman on the very top GOP ticket, and only the second for a major party. While some mocked Palin, and condemned McCain for selecting someone the DC establishment felt was unqualified for such a job, others were impressed by Palin’s authenticity, and her skills as a communicator.
Palin, who has spent the past decade in the semi-retirement on the right wing, conservative circuit of Fox News and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), announced at the beginning of this month she was joining the already crowded field.
“Today I’m announcing my candidacy for the US House seat representing Alaska,” she said on Facebook. “Public service is a calling, and I would be honoured to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep Young did for 49 years.”
She added: “America is at a tipping point. As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight. The people of the great State of Alaska, like others all over the country, are struggling with out-of-control inflation, empty shelves, and gas prices that are among the highest in the world.”
She rapidly received the endorsement of former president Donald Trump, something that drew further attention to the race.
“Sarah shocked many when she endorsed me very early in 2016, and we won big,” Trump said. “Now, it’s my turn! Sarah has been a champion for Alaska values, Alaska energy, Alaska jobs and the great people of Alaska.”
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Sarah Palin says she would replace late representative Don Young ‘in a heartbeat’
But while Palin may have the greatest name recognition, the endorsement of a fellow populist and CPAC favourite, it is not clear that she can pull this off. At the very least she will have a fight on her hands.
And she is is going to have to fight off a whole range host of other candidates, including a city council member from North Pole, Alaska, near the city of Fairbanks, who 17 years ago legally changed his name to Santa Claus.
He is a supporter of many of democratic socialist Bernie Sanders’s policies and says his campaign is not taking big money.
Another candidate, 89-year-old Emil Notti, is a Native Alaskan who wants to raise attention to climate change, the effects of which, he and numerous scientists say, are being seen in Alaska.
Yet another candidate, Nick Begich III, is a Republican member of a historic Democratic political family.
He is running for the seat once held by his grandfather. Nick Begich Sr was elected to Alaska’s lone congressional seat in 1970 but was one of four people assumed to have died when their light aircraft disappeared during a 1972 flight from Anchorage to Juneau. His body was never found.
One uncle, Mark Begich, is a former Democratic senator for Alaska, while another uncle, Tom Begich, is currently a Democratic state senator.
“I’ve been a Republican my whole life, since the first time I registered to vote. I’m a conservative. You know, I think Don Young and I share many of the same views on a number of policies, he told the Anchorage Daily News. “I would say I’m probably a little to the right of Don, but at the end of the day it’s conservative principles that I hold.”
Ivan Moore, a Briton who moved to Alaska three decades ago and is a consultant and pollster, said a survey he carried out in October suggested Palin had a favourability of around 31 per cent. At one point, her negative rating stood in the 60s. That is nothing new, he says.
Don Young, (L) pictured in 2019 with Democrat Tulsi Gabbard represented Alaska for 49 years
(AFP via Getty Images)
After she resigned as governor, he says, some people assumed the view that the job she had done was decent, but that that she was a “bit of a fruitcake”.
Is there anything she can do to boost her ratings?
“Not really. I think she can get to the final four,” he tells The Independent. “But I don’t think she makes it beyond that.”
He says the ranked voting system allows – and requires – candidates to have a broader appeal. His polling suggests that Palin’s hard core of support may be as low as eight per cent.
(Palin’s campaign did not respond to questions.)
Emil Notti is one of those who remembers how this all started. Back in 1973 he was among those who challenged Young for the open seat that had been created by Begich’s disappearance.
Initially, Begich, a Democrat, had beaten Young even though the plane had gone missing, making him one of five people the Washington Post noted who were elected to Congress even though they were dead.
A fresh election had to be ordered. In the final showdown between Notti and Young, the Republican won 51.41- 48.6, a margin of just 1,921 votes, something the Democrat puts down to the fact that Young’s name had been on the ballot for a year, while he contested for just a couple of months.
Despite having lost back in 1973, Notti believes he has a chance this time around.
“I’m an underdog. I think there’s going to be a lot of money in this race,” he says from Anchorage.
“My hope is that people get fed up with slick ads and dark money from different places coming into the state. I hope we get a reaction against them.”
Emil Notti says he is running a grassroots campaign
(Courtesy Emil Notti)
Notti, who is of Koyukon Athabaskan heritage, says he is not intimidated by Palin’s presence in the race.
“Well, she’s very well known. She got Donald Trump’s endorsement. She’ll be getting a great deal of money right,” he says.
“But I don’t think she’ll do any better than any other candidate. I think it’s a pretty even playing field, even with all the money behind her.”
Notti has said he wants to draw attention to climate change with his campaign.
“One of the big issues is the environment. There’s a great deal of pressure to develop Alaska. Development does have to come – we have an increasing population. But it’s a matter of how we do it,” he says.
“We must enforce the environmental laws and make sure that the development is beneficial, not destructive.”
Why had he decided to jump after all these years?
“Well, there are 48 people in the race right now,” he says. “And I thought my chances are pretty good.”
Another person who is also relying on small donations certainly has name recognition of sorts: a 75-year council member from North Pole, who changed his name to Santa Claus after a spiritual experience told him to do so.
Claus – “Please call me Santa. Claus makes me feel so old” – says he uses the platform of his recognisable name to work across the US and Alaska on child protection issues.
A Christian monk and two-term council member, Claus says that before he changed his name in 2005, he served as a special assistant to the Deputy Police Commissioner of New York City, and was a member of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Defense Executive Reserve.
His website says he is “an independent, progressive, democratic socialist, and shares many of US Senator Bernie Sanders’s positions”.
Speaking from North Pole, Claus says he believes the most important issues for him are Medicare for All, union membership, LGBTQ rights, student debt cancellation, expanding broadband access and education.
He is also a proponent of a strong military. “Alaska is only 50 miles away from Russia,” he says. “So that’s a consideration and our collaboration with other nations to share space up here, and energy and oil, gas and coal and renewables.”
Sarah Palin has the endorsement of Donald Trump
(Getty Images)
He says as a progressive in North Pole, he is “a blue spot in a red sea”. Yet he says he is not intimidated by the presence of Palin or the money she might bring.
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Asked about his chances, he thinks they’re “pretty good” if he gets through the primary given the ranked system of voting.
“If I get through the primary I think I can be the guy who’ll win,’ he says. “Because I think I’ll be some people’s first choice, and a lot of people second choice.”