For those who remember the 2022 surprise victory of Mary Peltola (D-AK) over former governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Nick Begich (R-AK), no doubt due to ranked choice voting (RCV) implemented in Alaska for that election, the bittersweet news for 2024 is that Rep Peltola lost her reelection bid to Nick Begich (R-AK), 51.3% to 48.7%, but a proposal to repeal RCV was defeated by a razor’s edge, barring a recount finding large anomalies:
The system, first approved by voters in 2020, quickly drew Republican opposition after a Democrat flipped the state’s single U.S. House seat in 2022, the first time it was used. But the state’s predominantly Native areas formed a bulwark to defend it this fall, despite notorious barriers to political participation in these more rural and remote regions.
The measure to repeal the system trails by 664 votes, or 0.21 percent, with all ballots counted. The small margin means that proponents of repeal may ask for a recount in December, though no statewide recount has changed a lead of this size in this century. [Bolts]
RCV is, I and many others think, the savior of moderates in the United States, as it allows moderates the opportunity to pick up votes for absolutists without voters being troubled that some favorite, deserving or not, isn’t on the ballot. Zealots, regardless of ideological position, have little to offer beyond bulging eyes and hair on fire, so they reject RCV as, somehow, too difficult to understand.
Moderates, much more so than steely-eyed right- and left- wingers, are not so arrogant and more prone to compromise and dealing. Their zealot-rivals, meanwhile, dig in their heels and are far more vulnerable to manipulation by thoughtful grifters and national adversaries.
As for the failure of Peltola, I suspect she was caught up in the anti-Democrat wave of 2024. Will it happen again in 2026? Honestly, both Parties are wandering around with their heads up their asses, so it becomes difficult to make confident predictions; and look at my 2024 predictions.
