Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced she is running to replace the late Rep. Don Young. Palin is listed among the 51 candidates who have entered the special primary election (set for June 11) to fill out the remaining months of Young’s term. The primary will be the first-ever statewide mail-in election. The top four vote getters will head to the special election (August 16) which will be conducted under the new Ranked Choice Voting system.
Other prominent candidates signed up for the special primary include: Nick Begich, former State Senator John Coghill, Anchorage Assemblyman Christopher Constant, former U.S. Senate candidate Al Gross, Andrew Halcro, State Sen. Josh Revak, Mat-Su Assemblyman Jesse Sumner and State Rep. Adam Wool.
Below is Palin’s announcement, posted to Facebook on April 1.
PALIN’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Today I’m announcing my candidacy for the U.S. House seat representing Alaska.
Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years.
I realize that I have very big shoes to fill, and I plan to honor Rep. Young’s legacy by offering myself up in the name of service to the state he loved and fought for, because I share that passion for Alaska and the United States of America.
I first entered politics 30 years ago, when I was elected to city council in Wasilla. I still live in Wasilla; my family is here; my son goes to school here. My heart will always be in Alaska, even when I’m representing this great state in Washington, D.C.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
America is at a tipping point. As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight. The people of the great State of Alaska, like others all over the country, are struggling with out-of-control inflation, empty shelves, and gas prices that are among the highest in the world. We need energy security for this country, and Alaska can help provide that – but only if the federal government gets out of the way and lets the free market do what it does best.
At this critical time in our nation’s history, we need leaders who will combat the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda. This country was built by heroes, and the radical left dishonors their legacies by opening our borders to illegal immigrants, mortgaging our children’s future, and selling out our nation’s interests to the highest bidder.
I’m in this race to win it and join the fight for freedom alongside other patriots willing to sacrifice all to save our country. – SP
PALIN’S POLITICAL HISTORY
Palin was governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. She was also the 2008 U.S. vice presidential nominee alongside the late Sen. John McCain, making her the first Republican female vice presidential nominee and just the second woman ever nominated as vice president of a major U.S. political party. In October of 2008, Palin debated the Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden on national television.
In her early political career, Palin served as a Wasilla City Council member and later mayor of Wasilla in 1996. After losing a bid as lieutenant governor in 2002, she was appointed chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. In 2006 she won the governorship as the youngest person elected to Alaska’s highest office. At the time she was seen as a reformer who would clean up government corruption.
After stepping down as governor following the unsuccessful 2008 presidential race, Palin has remained in the public eye, campaigning for conservative candidates and even endorsing President Trump at a 2016 rally. She has also appeared on various television and reality tv shows.
Most recently, she made national headlines in an unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against the New York Times for an editorial that ran back in 2011 accusing her of inciting violence in the lead up to the shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The Times initially blamed Palin because of a campaign ad which depicted crosshairs over vulnerable congressional districts held by 20 Democrats, including Gifford. The times later issued a correction and admitted that there was no connection between the ad and the shooting. The lawsuit, however, was thrown out after the judge claimed Palin did not prove actual malice on the part of the Times.
