By Canadian Press

Trump-backed Alaska Republican withdraws from US House race after third-place finish in primary

Aug 23, 2024 | 11:59 AM

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the race for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House on Friday after finishing third in this week’s primary.

Her decision left second-place finisher Republican Nick Begich as the main challenger to Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress.

The three were the most prominent candidates in a field of 12 running for the seat in Alaska’s primary. Under Alaska’s open primary system, voters were asked to pick one candidate, with the top four vote-getters in the race, regardless of party affiliation, advancing to the ranked choice general election.

In early results, Peltola led in the vote count, followed by Begich and then Dahlstrom. It was too early to call who the fourth candidate would be.

The Alaska Division of Elections did not respond to an email seeking clarification if the fifth-place candidate moves to the general election. Phone calls to the division went unanswered Friday.

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Cutting carbon emissions can be easy and accessible to Kamloops residents

Oct 30, 2024

Question of the Week

Do you have confidence in the vote-counting carried out by Elections BC?

Oct 28, 2024

Week in Review

Week in Review: Week of Oct. 21

Oct 26, 2024

The Associated Press