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The U.S. House candidate forum this week, organized by the Anchorage Chamber, was really striking.
I wrote about how the three candidates – Nick Begich III, Sarah Palin and Mary Peltola – staked out their positions on abortion. What really struck me, though, was how they staked out their style as a politician, their archetype.
Begich, with his gray suit and an occasional bit of corporate jargon, was all businessman, with anti-Biden top notes. He’s got affiliations with the powerful Club for Growth. His appeal to that segment of conservative Republicans is obvious.
On that Anchorage stage, Palin was a living embodiment of the term populist. She spoke again of spending $140 to fill up her truck, describing herself as “blessed” to be able to afford it. “Looking around at so many Alaskans who aren't in the same position that I am, I want to work for those people, to make sure that they can put food on their tables, so that they can fuel up their vehicles,” Palin said.
She, like former President Trump, speaks of “corrupt elites in Washington” vs. “the people.” Her jabs at Biden are pointed. It’s easy to picture her at a press conference outside the Capitol, flanked by Trump-aligned colleagues.
And then there’s Mary Peltola. I’ve asked at least a dozen people about her. Most, even if they’d never vote for a Democrat, use the adjective “nice,” or a synonym of it, to describe her. I asked around to find someone to say otherwise. It was fruitless.
“You can’t out-nice Mary Peltola,” a campaign consultant on a different team told me.
I wrote a whole story about it. In politics, niceness is a weird trait to be known for. I’m trying to picture how that would play out in Congress. There’s a Problem Solvers Caucus. Maybe she’d find a political home there.
If she gets that far. Peltola faces a steep climb. In the special primary, 60% of voters chose one of the Republicans on the ballot.
For more on her, you might want to tune into this episode of the Tom Anderson Show.
One reader of this newsletter told me I spend too much time focused on the special congressional election, which will fill a U.S. House seat for only a few months. Maybe. But I’m drawn like a moth to flame. It’s an open seat, and it hasn’t turned over in 50 years. It gives the winner a huge leg-up in the regular race for a full two-year term. It’s Alaska’s first chance to rank-choice vote.
Besides, the last guy to win a special election for a partial term as Alaska’s congressman stayed for five decades.
Thanks for reading. Email me your questions and news tips.
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