Don’t call it a comeback, but only because it failed. For months, Sarah Palin — who you could arguably blame for ushering in a newer, dumber breed of Republican politician, leading to the doomed big guy himself — has been trying to edge her way back into government, partly by cozying up to Donald Trump. But her bid for a vacating House seat ended with her getting rejected by her former constituents, leading to much rejoicing.
Final margin: Peltola (D) defeats Palin (R) 51.5%-48.5% in the final round of ranked-choice. This is a huge victory and pickup for Dems, driven more by Palin's unpopularity than national trends. #AKAL
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) September 1, 2022
As per CNN, Alaska held a special election to fill a House seat, albeit only for the remainder of the year. Palin was one of the candidates. She lost to Mary Peltola, a Democrat who has become the very first Alaska Native elected to Congress. The election marked a first for Alaska, which employed a ranked-choice system in which all four qualified candidates, across different parties, all ran against each other on one ballot.
Alas, Palin will get a second chance for a second chance much sooner than you’d think. The same seat will be back up for grabs in the general election, meaning Palin and Peltola will have to duke it out once more.
Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006, but she remained a relatively obscure figure until 2008, when then- presidential candidate John McCain chose her as his running mate on the Republican ticket. She was immediately divisive, giving bizarrely inarticulate media interviews that prompted widespread mockery. She and McCain lost to Barack Obama and the future 46th president.
Less than a year later, she abruptly resigned from her governorship, briefly became a reality TV star, and then fell back into obscurity, emerging in the last couple years as she attempted to hitch up with the MAGA movement she helped create. So far, and despite her still being an incoherent wreck, that’s been a failure, but one thing she was likely successful at was getting innocent people sick with COVID after testing positive during a trip to New York City to fight The New York Times in court. At least she lost that one, too.
Anyway, you’ll be hearing from her again, far, far too soon. But in the meantime, people were stoked that her first comeback bid was such a failure.
Sarah Palin lost. This Sarah Palin. The one who used my famous photo in her quest to have Sullivan vs New York Times reversed.
OH DARN https://t.co/vJ5hOPGvjX pic.twitter.com/PvDZGdWWxF— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) September 1, 2022
I've updated my views on Ranked Choice Voting from Meh to You Betcha. https://t.co/5ytufBWj6m
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) September 1, 2022
Turns out, when you quit the only real job you’ve ever had, voters are reluctant to give you another one. https://t.co/xZgqemJ636
— Josh Mankiewicz (@JoshMankiewicz) September 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/Celeste_pewter/status/1565131242802012160
Thank you Alaska! https://t.co/yPr4v2BmGh
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) September 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1565130528944259072
Welp…I guess you can’t put lipstick on a pig. https://t.co/lgz9jGCe14
— Tara Setmayer (@TaraSetmayer) September 1, 2022
The modern MAGA movement started with Palin. She showed the political potential in denying facts, peddling racism, and blaming “others” for the problems of “real Americans.” https://t.co/ohOBtlAHgz
— Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) September 1, 2022
damn RIP bozo https://t.co/hIow4qRGLe
— JP (@jpbrammer) September 1, 2022
Some pointed to an interesting trend: Democrats are doing really well in elections since the right-leaning Supreme Court nixed Roe v. Wade.
Democrats have now overperformed expectations in every election since Roe ended – AK, KS, MN, NE, NY. https://t.co/AAQqJ2Rlmf
— Simon Rosenberg (@SimonWDC) September 1, 2022
First Kansas. Then New York. Now Alaska.
Democrats are on a roll and we will keep it going straight through November. https://t.co/TbCInQn9Sc
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@spmaloney) September 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1565141216085286913
And others were stoked for Peltola, who on top of being indigenous is the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the House in a half-century.
Mary Peltola is…
• The first woman to represent Alaksa in the US House
• The first Alaska Native person elected to Congress
• The first Democrat to represent Alaska in the US House in 50 years #AKAL https://t.co/dxNMZoL29m— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) September 1, 2022
Wow. Congrats @MaryPeltola, who will be the first Native Alaskan elected to Congress. https://t.co/cYpNDxP4kp
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 1, 2022
NEWS | Mary Peltola, a Democrat, has won the House special election in Alaska to succeed the late Rep. Don Young.
She becomes the first Democrat to win a House race in Alaska in 50 years, and the first Native Alaskan to win a House seat in history.
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) September 1, 2022
Wow wow wow – Democrat Mary Peltola beats Sarah Palin in the special House election in Alaska. She'll be the first ever Alaska native to serve in Congress
— Kate Riga (@Kate_Riga24) September 1, 2022
(Via CNN)