One of the three U.S. House candidates was missing at a candidates forum in Kenai on Aug. 3: Former Gov. Sarah Palin instead held a fundraiser in Minneapolis, according to photos she posted on her Instagram account.
The next day, she was in Dallas for a 20-minute onstage interview titled “She’s Back!”
Her Texas appearance was at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which draws notable Republican and conservative politicians, including former President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Her opponents to fill the seat of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young — Republican Nick Begich and Democrat Mary Peltola — discussed their views on the economy, gun rights and abortion, among other issues, at the Aug. 3 forum hosted by the Soldotna and Kenai chambers of commerce.
For Alaskans hoping to hear from her, she has been notably difficult to track down. Palin’s congressional campaign marks her first run for elected office since quitting as governor in 2009, and while she has marched in occasional parades and roused a crowd of more than 5,000 in an Anchorage Trump rally, she has turned down some candidate forums, including one hosted by the Anchorage Republican Women earlier this year. There, hosts left an empty chair for her at the table with the word “no” attached to her name.
Palin’s campaign manager, Kris Perry, said Palin, 58, was not available for an interview for this story despite multiple requests this week.
Begich, 44, is a millionaire businessman and the grandson of Nick Begich Sr., who served as Alaska’s U.S. representative until he disappeared in a plane crash in 1972. He is also the nephew of former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, and current state Sen. Tom Begich. The younger Begich says his biggest challenge in the campaign has been convincing voters that unlike his grandfather and two uncles, he’s not a Democrat.
Peltola, 48, served in the state Legislature for a decade, representing the Bethel area. As a Yup’ik woman, her victory would propel the first Alaska Native to Congress. In the Legislature, she headed the Bush Caucus representing communities off the road system. First elected at age 25, she said she went to the Legislature thinking she would “fight enemies.” But she quickly learned that she would be more effective if she turned the other 59 lawmakers into her best friends. Her friendliness has become a hallmark of her current campaign.
Still, Peltola and Begich recognize that Palin is a formidable opponent. The former governor garnered 27% of the vote in the 48-way special primary in June, and in some more conservative regions of the state, including Kenai and Soldotna, she commanded more than 40% of the vote.
“I can’t help but still see her as the clear front-runner. She’s an international celebrity. How can you not be the front-runner if you’re an international celebrity and a former sitting governor?” Peltola said in an interview after the Kenai forum. “I think Nick must feel like that too, since the negative comments that he makes are really just at Sarah.”
After the Kenai forum, local residents lamented Palin’s absence — and some said it would change how they planned to vote.
“She has been a no-show for so much. I was really hoping that she would be here just to express her opinion. Because right now, I’m one of the believers that she is literally running on her celebrity only and has no real clue what the issues are,” said Larry Opperman, a Soldotna resident who plans to support Begich.
Don and Alice Heckert, who live in Kenai, said they planned to rank Begich first, but that forum would likely change who they rank second on their ballot.
“I think it was very good to see Mary Peltola. I didn’t know anything about her,” Alice said. “The third candidate, her not showing up just speaks for itself, because all of a sudden Kenai’s not important.”
April Hall, a pastor at the Kenai United Methodist Church, said she would vote for Peltola first and Begich second.
“To me, (Palin) doesn’t seem as grounded. We need someone who’s grounded and these two seem to be very grounded,” Hall said. “For her, it’s more of a show.”
Reader Comments(0)