Trump-backed Alaska Republican withdraws from US House race after third-place finish in primary

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the race for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House on Friday after finishing third in this week’s primary.

Her decision left second-place finisher Republican Nick Begich as the main challenger to Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress.

“I entered this race because Alaskans deserve better representation than what we have received from Mary Peltola in Washington,” Dahlstrom said in a statement released by her campaign. “At this time, the best thing I can do to see that goal realized is to withdraw my name from the general election ballot and end my campaign.”

Peltola, Begich and Dahlstrom were the most prominent among a dozen candidates running for the seat in Alaska’s primary. Under Alaska’s open primary system, voters were asked to pick one candidate, with the top four vote-getters in the race, regardless of party affiliation, advancing to the ranked choice general election.

In early results, Peltola led in the vote count, followed by Begich and then Dahlstrom. It was too early to call who would finish fourth.

The general election is expected to be hotly contested. The GOP is hoping to reclaim the seat that Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young held for 49 years before his death in 2022. Peltola won the seat with victories in special and regular elections that year.

Peltola’s campaign did not immediately respond to a phone call, text or email seeking comment.

Begich, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2022, had support from a number of local Republican groups. Dahlstrom was endorsed by Trump and several House leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson.

Begich congratulated Dahlstrom in a social media post Friday for running a “strong campaign.”

“Today we move forward unified in the effort to replace Mary Peltola, who has proven by her alignment with the left that she is not the moderate she claimed to be,” Begich wrote.

Begich said before the primary he would withdraw from the race if he finished behind Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom did not make a similar pledge, but told The Associated Press she would to talk with Begich, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the head of the state Republican party after the primary to analyze “who got what and what it’s going to take to have a conservative in that seat vote-wise.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee had supported Dahlstrom, but said Friday that Begich — who comes from a family of prominent Alaska Democrats — is “a great choice.”

“Nancy Dahlstrom has led a life of service and I want to thank her for stepping into the arena this year,” committee chairman Richard Hudson said in an emailed statement. “Her selfless decision today puts Alaskans and the team first, allowing voters to unite around a single Republican.”

Under state law, if one of top four candidates in the primary dies, withdraws or is disqualified within 64 days of the general election, the fifth-place finisher moves on to the general election ballot. Friday marked 74 days until the Nov. 5 general election.

If early results hold, the other two candidates to advance to the general election would be little-known Republican Matthew Salisbury and Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, who were each receiving less than 1% of of the vote.

Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press