Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, the Democrat who won the special election that sent her to Congress this summer, will again thwart former Gov. Sarah Palin’s bid for a political comeback.  CNN predicted Wednesday that Peltola would win the race for Alaska’s at-large seat in the House after the state’s vote, defeating Palin and Republican Nick Begich III.   

  CNN also predicted that Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski would win re-election.  She will defeat Republican Kelly Tshibaka and Democrat Patricia Chesbro.  CNN had previously predicted that a Republican would hold the seat.   

  And Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy will win re-election, according to CNN.  He defeated Democrat Les Gara and independent Bill Walker.  Dunleavy won more than 50% of the first-choice votes, so ranking the ranked picks was not required.   

  In Alaska, voters in 2020 approved switching to a ranked-choice voting system.  It is in operation in 2022 for the first time.   

  Under the new system, Alaska holds open primaries and voters vote for one candidate from any party, and the top four finishers qualify.  In the general election, voters rank these four candidates, from their first choice to their fourth choice.   

  If no candidate gets more than 50% of the first-choice vote, the state then ranks the results of the ranked choices – leaving last place and shifting those votes to voters’ second choices.  If, after one round of ranking, there is still no winner, the third place finisher is eliminated and the same voting process takes place.   

  Peltola first won the House seat when a similar scenario played out in an August special election to fill the remaining months of the term of the late Rep. Don Young, a Republican who died in March after representing Alaska in the House for 49 years.   

  Billing herself as an abortion rights supporter and champion of salmon fishing, Peltola emerged victorious in the August special election after receiving just 40 percent of the first-place vote.  This time, he has a larger share, while Palin and Begich’s support has shrunk.   

  The House race showcased the unusual alliances in Alaska’s political scene.  Although Peltola is a Democrat, she is also close with Palin – whose term as governor overlapped with Peltola’s time as a state legislator in Juneau.  The two have been highly complimentary of each other.  Palin has criticized the ranked-choice voting system.  But he never targeted Peltola in personal terms.   

  The Republicans in the race, Palin and Begich, both urged voters to “rank red” and list the two GOP candidates first and second.   

  But Peltola had quickly won over many in the state after her special election victory — in part because she has deep ties to several Republicans.   

  Peltola told CNN in an interview with CNN that she and Palin had bonded in Juneau because they were new mothers and that Palin’s family had given Peltola’s family their backyard trampoline when Palin resigned from the governor’s office.   

  At a Federation of Alaska Natives candidate forum in October, Palin was effusive in her praise of Peltola.   

  “Do it, I never have anything to condemn.  I just want it to turn into the other part.  But other than that, love her,” Palin said of Peltola.   

  Peltola’s family was also close to the late Yang’s family.  Peltola’s father and Young had taught school together decades ago and were chasing friends, Peltola said in an interview.   

  In the Alaska Senate race, Murkowski, a moderate Republican, has been targeted by former President Donald Trump after he voted to impeach him during his impeachment trial following the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.  Murkowski also broke with Trump on a number of key votes during his presidency.   

  Trump endorsed Tshibaka, and a cadre of former Trump campaign officials worked on her campaign.  He was also endorsed by the Alaska Republican Party, which chose to back the more conservative candidate in a state Trump won by 10 percentage points in 2020.   

  But Murkowski had built a broad coalition in a state where political alliances are often more complicated than they appear.  She and Peltola had publicly declared that they would be first in their elections.   

  Chesbrough, a Democrat, was among four candidates who had advanced to the general election.  Republican Buzz Kelley also stepped forward, but withdrew and urged his supporters to vote for Tshibaka.