Democrat Mary Peltola defeats Sarah Palin in race for Alaska's at-large House seat
NBCDec 02, 2022
The Facts
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska both won reelection against their Trump-backed opponents on Wednesday, marking the latest in a series of defeats for the former president.
Although neither candidate received an outright majority, they each came out on top in the state's recently introduced "ranked choice" system, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Lower-ranked candidates are eliminated through a succession of counting rounds.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
These victories — along with those against other Trump-backed candidates — show that the majority of American voters on both sides of the aisle are ready to move on from the former president and his toxic, conspiracy theory-ridden rhetoric. This is a win for democracy, freedom, and equality.
Republican narrative
These results reveal very little other than that ranked-choice voting is a scam that leads to mass confusion and increased voter bitterness. Alaska is a majority-Republican state, which Trump won by 10 points in 2020 — how did it end up with a Democratic representative?