Sarah Palin, pioneer of populist and ultra republicanism of the 21st century, wants to return to politics. The former governor of Alaska and promoter of the Tea Party competed Tuesday for the state's only seat in the House of Representatives, replacing the one she held for 49 years until her death in March, Don Young.
Palin, vice-presidential candidate with John McCain in the 2008 presidential elections, tries to return hand in hand with the one who was somehow the most successful heir to her way of doing politics and who is now her godfather and leader, Donald Trump.
But the once television, popular and flirtatious leader, despite being unkind to a press before which she never wanted to risk exposing her wide gaps in training, it is not easy for her to return to the political scene after 13 years of absence.
If he does not achieve his objective, he has already advanced that the fault will be the peculiar electoral system of Alaska. The elections are double this time, with primaries for the mid-term elections to the US House and Senate, in November, and a special election to replace the late representative Don Young until the end of the current legislature. in early 2023. The result of this specific election will not be known until the end of the month. The state's newly released electoral mechanism is based on a pick-and-drop system that penalizes the most divisive candidates...such as Palin.
So, although she may be right when she says that the "strange" electoral method harms her, the problem is in the preferences of the voters, as in all democratic elections. And Alaska Republicans had been showing some reticence about her flashy comeback after she resigned as governor after she had been in office for two and a half years.
Not in vain did the state leadership of the Republican Party support the rival candidate, Nick Begich. And, as The New York Times reported yesterday, even Palin's in-laws organized a fundraiser for Begich. Jim Palin, father of the ex-governor's ex-husband, was clear when asked why he supported his opponent: "Begich will remain in office as long as we want," he said.
