Alaska voters whittling down 12 U.S. House candidates to four

(The Center Square) - Alaska voters can only choose one U.S. House candidate in this month's primary, but four will advance as the state conducts its second congressional election using ranked-choice voting.

Early voting began Monday for the 12 candidate race for the state's sole congressional seat. The in-person primary is Aug. 20.

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is vying to keep her seat in a heavily Republican state. She staved off challenges in 2022 from some of Alaska's most prominent politicians, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich, whose grandfather held the seat until he disappeared in a plane crash in 1972.

Palin and Begich ran as Republicans and criticized the state's ranked-choice voting system. Palin is not running again, but Begich faces another prominent Republican in the primary.

Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom threw her hat into the race. She has the backing of former President Donald Trump. Begich is supported by the House Freedom Caucus, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and several members of the Alaska Legislature.

Begich is a critic of ranked-choice voting. He said in a social media post he would endorse the leading conservative from the primary results and drop out of the November election.

"Ranked choice voting has worked for the Left specifically because they have realized that by depriving voters of additional choices they improve their odds of winning," Begich said in the post. "In so doing, they consolidate support from the start while members of other parties argue the finer points of policy rather than unifying behind one candidate."

Two other Republicans, Gerald L. "Jer" Heikes and Matthew H. Salisbury, are competing for the post. Democrat Eric Hafner is also on the ballot.

Peltola is running on a "fish, family and freedom" platform. She said in a social media post she is the only pro-choice candidate on the ballot.

"Part of being pro-freedom is making sure that women have the freedom to choose when they do or do not start and grow their families," Peltola said. "Protecting our right to reproductive healthcare has been my priority from day one."

Other candidates in the race are David R. Ambrose II, Samuel Claesson, and Lady Donna Dutchess, who are listed as nonpartisan; Richard Grayson, a member of the No Labels Party; Richard "Von" Mayers, who is undeclared; and John Wayne Howe, a member of the Alaska Independence Party.

Voters will choose one candidate in the primary, and the top four will move on to the Nov. 5 general election. Candidates are ranked, with one being their favorite. If no candidate receives a simple majority, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated. Those who selected the eliminated candidate as their first choice will have their votes redistributed to their second choice. The process continues until there is a winner.