Nick Begich III

2022 special election

In October 2021, he announced his campaign to run for the Alaska's at-large U.S. House seat against incumbent Republican Don Young, who held the seat since 1972.^[3] Young died in March 2022 which led to a special election scheduled for August 16, 2022.^[14] The election was a 3-way race of Begich, former Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Democratic former state Representative Mary Peltola.^[15]

The election was the first to use Alaska's new ranked-choice voting (RCV) method, approved by voters in 2020. The winners of the top-four blanket primary advanced to the ranked-choice runoff election, but only three candidates competed (as Al Gross withdrew and endorsed Peltola). Peltola was declared the winner on August 31 after all ballots were counted.^[16][17][18] Peltola's victory was widely seen as an upset in a traditionally Republican state.^[19]

The results were praised by many pundits and activists.^[20] By contrast, some scholars criticized the instant-runoff procedure for its pathological behavior,^[21][22] the result of a center squeeze.^[22][23][24] Although Peltola received a plurality of first choice votes and won in the final round, a majority of voters ranked her last or left her off their ballot entirely.^[22] Begich was eliminated in the first round, despite being preferred by a majority to each one of his opponents, with 53 percent of voters ranking him above Peltola.^[22][25][26] However, Palin spoiled the election by splitting the first-round vote, leading to Begich's elimination and costing Republicans the seat.^[22][27]

2022 regular election

The regular 2022 Alaska's at-large U.S. House election was held on November 8.^[28] The four candidates were incumbent Peltola, Palin, Begich, and Libertarian Chris Bye.^[29][30] Under the rules of instant-runoff, Bye and Begich were eliminated in the first and second rounds, after they received the fewest votes. These votes were then transferred to either Peltola or Palin, depending on who the voter ranked higher on their ballot. Peltola won with 55 percent of the vote, increasing her margin from the special election.^[31]

Social choice theorists commenting on the race noted that unlike the previous special election, the general election involved few election pathologies. Peltola won the election as the majority-preferred (Condorcet) candidate, with ballots indicating support from a majority of voters.^[32]

2024 regular election

The regular 2024 Alaska's at-large U.S. House election was held on November 5. The election coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the U.S. House, elections to the United States Senate, and various other state and local elections.

The primary election was held on August 20, 2024,^[33] with candidates Mary Peltola, Nick Begich, and Republican Nancy Dahlstrom emerging as the main candidates. After placing third, Dahlstrom withdrew from the race to avoid another result like 2022 to ensure there was no center squeeze or spoiler effect, resulting in a traditional two-party race with two clear frontrunners.^[34][35][36] The four candidates were Begich, Peltola, Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, and Democrat Eric Hafner.^[37]

On November 20, it was announced that Begich defeated Peltola.^[38] In the first round, he achieved 48.42% of the vote against her 46.36%. After other candidates were eliminated, the final round resulted in Begich receiving 51.3% of the vote against Peltola's 48.7%, making him the winner.^[37][39]