On Wednesday, Aug. 31, Mary Peltola was announced the winner in a special election in Alaska for the state’s lone seat in the House of Representatives. She won in a contest that involved the state’s former governor Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III. For Palin, Peltola’s win derailed her attempt at a political comeback. 

Peltola’s win also comes with some history, as she is the first woman, and first Alaskan native to win a seat. Peltola, who is Yup’ik, turned 49-years-old the same day as her historic win. She will serve the remaining months of Rep. Don Young’s term who died in March. He had held the seat for more than half a century. 

“I don’t think there will be another birthday like today — Really I’m just so grateful to Alaskans and all the Alaskans who put their faith in me to fill out the remainder of Congressman Young’s term — My desire is to follow in Congressman Young’s legacy of representing all Alaskans, and I’m just looking forward to getting to work,” Peltola said. 

Per NBC News, Peltola was leading in the polls heading into Wednesday’s final showdown. This comes after polls in June revealed she was fourth among all candidates in a nonpartisan primary. There, over 48 candidates battled it out for the final four slots on the Aug. 16 final special election ballot. 

The latest election also was the first time the state had officially implemented ranked-choice voting. Under the new system that will also be utilized in November, voters will rank the candidates out of pure preference. 

“It’s been very attractive to a lot of people to have a message of working together and positivity and holding each other up and unity and as Americans none of us are each other’s enemy — That is just a message that people really need to hear right now,” Peltola said. 

Peltola is also the first Democrat to hold the position since the late U.S. Rep. Nick Begich. He vanished in his plane in 1972 while he was seeking reelection. When Begich was later declared dead a year later, Young took over and held the seat until this past March, 2022. 

“Alaskans have made clear they want a rational, steadfast, honest and caring voice speaking for them in Washington D.C., not opportunists and extremists associated with the Alaska Republican Party,” Alaska Democratic Party Chair Michael Wenstrup said in a statement. 

Palin has come out in opposition since her loss, criticizing the newest method of voting, calling it “crazy, convoluted, confusing.”

“Ranked-choice voting was sold as the way to make elections better reflect the will of the people. As Alaska — and America — now sees, the exact opposite is true — Though we’re disappointed in this outcome, Alaskans know I’m the last one who’ll ever retreat,” she said. 

Peltola’s other opponent, Nick Begich III — grandson of former Rep. Nick Begich — also went after Palin, saying she "cannot win a statewide race because her unfavorable rating is so high.”

“The biggest lesson as we move into the 2022 General Election, is that ranked-choice voting showed that a vote for Sarah Palin is in reality a vote for Mary Peltola. Palin simply doesn’t have enough support from Alaskans to win an election," Begich said in a statement. "As we look forward to the November election, I will work hard to earn the vote of Alaskans all across the state.”