Begich defeats Peltola, flipping Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat

Republican Nick Begich III has won Alaska’s sole U.S. House seat, flipping it from Democratic to Republican control.

Results of the race posted Wednesday showed Begich defeating Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, who first won the seat in a special election in 2022 after the death of Republican longtime Rep. Don Young. Peltola had been the first Alaska Native woman elected to Congress, and the first Democrat to hold the seat since Begich’s grandfather, Nick Begich, won the seat in 1972.

Begich captured 48.4% of first-choice votes in Alaska’s congressional race, leading Peltola by 6,779 votes, after 340,510 ballots were counted. Peltola had 46.4% of first-choice votes. Because Begich did not have an outright majority in the race, the outcome was ultimately determined by a ranked choice tabulation, which placed Begich ahead of Peltola in a 51.3%-48.7% split.

Other candidates in the race included Alaskan Independence Party leader John Wayne Howe, who received 3.9% of the vote after campaigning on a platform of eliminating most forms of federal taxation. Democrat Eric Hafner, who was allowed to run for the seat despite serving a federal prison sentence in New York and never stepping foot in Alaska, received 1% of the vote.

[Ranked choice voting and open primaries retained in Alaska after final ballot count]

In a prepared statement, Peltola said serving in Congress was the honor of her life.

“I’ll tell you, working for all of Alaska isn’t easy,” Peltola said. “The path ahead will not be built by one person or three people working for all of Alaska but by all Alaskans working together to build a future that works for all of us. No one in the Lower 48 is coming to save us. It’s up to us.”

She thanked her congressional and campaign staffs for helping achieve “generational wins” for the state and for making “fish a national issue.” She said she was rooting for Begich’s success.

“Please don’t forget when DC people keep telling you that you are one of three, you are actually one of more than seven hundred thousand Alaskans who are ready to fight for our state, myself included,” Peltola said.

[Bipartisan coalition on track for slim margin in Alaska House after ranked choice tabulations]

In a written statement, Begich said “much work remains for Alaskans to fully realize” the state’s potential.

“I am committed to fighting for our jobs and economy, protecting our unique way of life, and ensuring that our voices are heard loud and clear in Washington,” Begich said.

Begich thanked Peltola for her service “in what is an exceptionally challenging role during an exceptionally challenging moment in our national history.”

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement that his administration “is eager to work with Congressman-elect Begich to incentivize private sector investment in Alaska.”

The results in Alaska’s elections won’t be finalized until the results are certified by the state’s oversight board, which is expected to complete its review by the end of this month. Once the results are certified, candidates or voters have up to five days to request a recount.

Begich is a member of a prominent family of Democrats in Alaska. His uncle Mark Begich served in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat until 2015. Nick Begich III, who was born in Alaska, was raised by his maternal grandparents in Florida and returned to Alaska as an adult, amassing a personal fortune by founding companies that focused on offshoring information technology jobs to other countries and advising other startups.

Begich worked for Young’s 2020 reelection campaign, then in 2022 announced that he planned to run against him — criticizing Young’s willingness to work on bipartisan legislation and his adherence to coronavirus mitigation steps like mask-wearing — shortly before Young’s death. Subsequently, many of Young’s longtime staffers and some of his family members endorsed Peltola.

Peltola was back in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday with Congress back in session.

Peltola’s tenure in Congress was marked by the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil project.

One year after she began serving in Congress, Peltola faced a personal tragedy when her husband, Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola, died in a plane crash.

Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who endorsed Peltola ahead of the election, said in a statement that working with her had been a privilege. Murkowski said Peltola “represented Alaskans well throughout (her) short tenure, and navigated this journey while facing unimaginable personal tragedy with grace, humility, and determination.”

Murkowski congratulated Begich on his victory and said she looked forward to working with him.

Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat made for one of the most expensive House races in the nation this year, as Republicans sought to protect their thin majority in the chamber, eyeing Alaska’s seat as a likely flip. Peltola was one of a few Democrats who held seats in districts that Trump had carried in 2020.

Ultimately, Trump again won Alaska decisively, carrying the state by a wider margin than he had in 2020. While Begich emerged victorious, he did so by a much slimmer margin than Trump’s. Begich received 24,829 fewer votes than Trump in Alaska.

This marks Begich’s first time winning elected office. He first ran for Congress in 2022, finishing third behind both Peltola and Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin. Ahead of this year’s primary, Begich promised he would drop out if he was not the top-finishing Republican. He then finished ahead of Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who ultimately dropped out of the race after facing pressure to do so from leaders of the Alaska Republican Party, clearing the way for Begich to coalesce support from Republican donors and national backers.

Early in his campaign, Begich was endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus, an ultraconservative group that played a key role in instigating a protracted fight last year over the U.S. House speakership. It was not immediately clear if Begich would join the caucus as a member of Congress.

In Congress, Peltola co-chaired the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats from Republican-leaning districts. The coalition’s other two co-chairs, Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Jared Golden of Maine, both won reelection even as their districts continued to support Trump.

Republicans are slated to retain control of the U.S. House, but with several seats across the country yet to be called, and Trump tapping several House Republicans to serve in his cabinet, the size of Republicans’ margin remains up in the air.