In some Alaska political races, Republican candidates have decided to drop out of the November general election if they don’t secure the most votes among their fellow Republicans in the primary. One of the most notable candidates making this pledge is Nick Begich III, who is running for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat. In April, Begich promised to exit the race if another Republican outperforms him in the primary, a commitment his campaign manager, Josh Walton, recently reaffirmed.
Another prominent Republican, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, is also vying for the U.S. House seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who won in 2022. Earlier this month, Dahlstrom announced she would not withdraw from the race if she trails Begich in the primary. Her team confirmed this stance remains unchanged.
Some Republicans in Anchorage’s state legislative races have made similar promises. These pledges were crafted by Trevor Jepsen, chief of staff to Rep. Tom McKay and part-time campaign consultant. Jepsen sees these pledges as a strategy to bypass the ranked choice voting system by treating the open primary as if it were under the previous system.
Alaskans adopted ranked choice voting in 2020, making the state a focal point for both its praise and criticism.
This system applies to the general election but not the primary, which is open to all candidates regardless of party affiliation. The top four primary vote-getters proceed to the general election, where voters rank up to four candidates. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on the next preference. This process continues until a winner emerges.
Jepsen is pushing for candidates in Senate District H and House District 9 in Anchorage to commit to the pledge. He argues that with multiple Republicans in these races, they could split the vote and lose to other parties. “We can’t win that Senate seat with two Republicans in the race. The numbers don’t work out,” he said.
In Senate District H, McKay and Liz Vasquez are the Republican candidates challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Matt Claman. McKay has signed the pledge, believing a one-on-one contest is their best chance. Vasquez has not yet signed and declined an interview request.
In House District 9, three Republicans face one independent. Two Republicans, Lucy Bauer and Brandy Pennington, have signed the pledge. Lee Ellis, the third Republican candidate and president of Midnight Sun Brewing Co., has not. Ellis criticized the pledge, suggesting it overlooked the district’s voting history. His research indicates a substantial portion of voters ranked their choices in 2022. Ellis prefers open primaries and has consulted campaign experts who advised against signing.
Scott Kendall, an attorney instrumental in creating the ranked choice voting legislation, argued that these pledges could harm the party signing them. He noted that the strategy assumes voters will strictly adhere to party lines, which isn’t always the case in Alaska, where personal connections and reputations often guide voting decisions.
Ranked choice voting is celebrated for capturing the complexities of voter identity in Alaska, which has a high number of independent voters. During the 2022 open primaries, more than half of Alaskans did not vote strictly along party lines. Kendall also pointed out that primary elections typically have lower voter turnout than general elections. Thus, a candidate who doesn’t perform well in the primary might still attract substantial support in the general election.
A proposed ballot measure seeks to repeal ranked choice voting. If passed, future elections would require voters to select only one candidate in the general election, eliminating the open primary system and allowing parties to control who can participate and run in primaries.
