Former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is running for office again – this time for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Today I’m announcing my candidacy for the U.S. House seat representing Alaska,” Palin, 58, said in a tweet Friday. “Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years.”
Rep. Don Young was first elected in 1973. By the time the Republican congressman died last month at 88, he had become the longest-serving Republican in the House of Representatives and the oldest current member of both the House and Senate.
Palin plans to run in a special election to replace Young, she said in a statement released Friday. In the statement, she promised to “fight the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda.”
After beginning her political career as a member of the Wasilla, Alaska, city council around 30 years ago, Palin went on to become mayor of the city and was later appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Eventually, she became the youngest governor in Alaska’s history, and its first female governor.
In 2008, the late Sen. John McCain selected Palin to be his running mate for the presidential election. They lost to former President Barack Obama, whose running mate was current President Joe Biden.
Before she became a politician, Palin earned a communications degree from the University of Idaho and worked as a sports reporter in Anchorage. She has also worked as a FOX News contributor, has been associated with the Tea Party political movement and has supported former Republican President Donald Trump.
“America is at a tipping point,” said Palin in her statement Friday. “As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight.”
She mentioned issues such as inflation, gas prices and immigration.
According to FOX, there are more than 40 candidates who entered into the primary election and the deadline to file was Friday. The election will be held June 11 and final results will be announced June 26.
In 2020, Alaska voters decided to change the state’s election system.
“Instead of two primaries, in which each political party nominates a candidate for the general election in November, the state will hold one open primary from which the top four candidates, regardless of party affiliation, proceed to the general election,” Vox explained.
The top four candidates announced June 26 will advance to the Aug. 16 special general election, where a winner will be chosen by ranked-choice voting, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
“The special general election is on the same date as the primary for a full term in office, and one or more candidates could appear in both the special general and the regular primary,” said the outlet. “The four winners of that primary will advance to a ranked-choice vote during the November general election.”
Related
Related
