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Alaska House candidates talk ranked voting ahead of election

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Alaska House candidates talk ranked voting ahead of election


JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska U.S. Home candidate Sarah Palin on Monday stated the state’s ranked alternative voting system “must be modified,” although Alaska has but to conduct an election beneath the system.

The state’s first ranked voting election, beneath a system narrowly accredited by voters in 2020, would be the Home particular election Aug. 16. It options two Republicans – Palin, a former Alaska governor, and businessman Nick Begich – and Democrat Mary Peltola, a former state lawmaker.

The winner will serve the rest of the late U.S. Rep. Don Younger’s time period, which ends early subsequent yr. Younger died in March.

Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, throughout a candidate discussion board broadcast by Juneau radio station KINY stated the ranked voting system is “so irritating for therefore many Alaskans.” She stated it’s “convoluted” and complex and creating voter confusion.

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The brand new voting course of ends social gathering primaries and institutes ranked voting typically elections. Underneath the system, all candidates in a main race, no matter social gathering affiliation, are on the identical poll, with the highest 4 vote-getters advancing to the overall election. There are simply three candidates on this election after unbiased Al Gross, who completed third within the June particular main, dropped out.

Begich stated campaigns are “successfully working a main and a basic on the similar time.”

“We’re going to run this experiment. We’ll see the way it goes,” he stated, including that he want to see Alaska return to the prior system.

Peltola, who most just lately labored for a fee whose objective is to rebuild salmon sources on the Kuskokwim River, stated she is “not a really partisan particular person.” She stated she is hopeful extra average candidates might be elected with ranked voting.

“And my hope is that we shrink back from the actually extreme-type candidates and politicians,” she stated.

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Alaskans for Higher Elections, which advocated for the brand new course of, on its web site says ranked voting permits voters to “specific their true preferences with out worry of by accident serving to elect candidates they don’t help.” Ranked voting additionally encourages optimistic campaigning since candidates must transcend their conventional base to achieve success, the group says.

The group stated folks rank objects by choice “on a regular basis.”

The Home particular election might be held the identical day because the common main. There are 22 candidates within the main, with Palin, Begich, Peltola and Republican Tara Sweeney essentially the most distinguished.

Younger held Alaska’s solely Home seat for 49 years. Begich stated constructing again seniority within the Home is necessary. He stated his non-public sector expertise is an space through which he stands out within the present race.

Peltola stated she is “not a millionaire. I’m similar to each different common Alaskan.” She additionally stated it’s necessary to have folks in workplace who “work effectively with different folks” and might construct coalitions.

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Palin stated she has connections that could possibly be “put to good use” for Alaska’s curiosity. She additionally famous her expertise in politics and authorities.

“We’d like a voice of motive from the folks, any individual who’s linked to only regular, on a regular basis Joe Six-Pack, hardworking Alaskan, and I really feel that that’s who I’m,” she stated.



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Alaska

Temperatures begin downward trend across Alaska this weekend

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Temperatures begin downward trend across Alaska this weekend


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A week of warm temperatures during the day and below-freezing conditions overnight makes for an icy mess across Southcentral.

In addition to the warm weather, windy and wet conditions continue for the coastal areas of Southcentral, Southwest, and Southeast Alaska as a storm turns near Kodiak.

This storm will stick with us one more day, before moving on to the east. That means Seward, Portage, and Whitter will see rain on Friday, with showers also likely in Homer, Valdez, and Cordova. The higher elevations, including Turnagain Pass, will likely see a wintry mix Thursday night through Friday.

Anchorage will stay mild on Friday, with temperatures starting out slightly below freezing before warming back to the mid-30s in the afternoon.

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An extended stretch of storm-free weather is likely starting this weekend. But with drier and clearer conditions, it also means temperatures will steadily fall 2 to 4 degrees with each day. Get ready for teens and 20s in Anchorage and the Mat-Su by the middle part of next week.



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Murkowski, a vocal Trump critic, vows to work with him to advance Alaska interests

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Murkowski, a vocal Trump critic, vows to work with him to advance Alaska interests


Republican Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has long been an outspoken critic of President-elect Donald Trump.

She says she never voted for him. Not in 2016, not in 2020, and not this year.

After Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Murkowski said Trump should have resigned the presidency immediately. She was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. Trump then vowed to campaign against Murkowski; still, she won reelection in 2022.

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Now, Murkowski says she will work with the Trump administration, setting aside their fraught history.

“At the end of the day, regardless of how a given president feels about me personally or politically, my job, my role is to make sure that Alaska stands to gain, and that’s what I intend to do,” Murkowski said Wednesday.

“I have been able to work with every single president, Republican and Democrat, to advance things that work in Alaska’s best interest. That’s part of my job,” said Murkowski, who met with Alaska news media in her Anchorage office. “You figure out areas that you can work together in. You figure out those areas where you need to push back in.”

Murkowski, like other Alaska politicians, has said that Trump’s policies could be more favorable to resource development projects in Alaska.

One area where she said she expected to push back on a Trump agenda was on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, the law championed by President Barack Obama that Trump tried unsuccessfully to repeal during his first term in office.

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“By then, there had been a growing acceptance and appreciation for how the ACA had allowed so many people who weren’t able to previously receive insurance be able to afford to have it,” said Murkowski.

She said “there may be areas” where she would be willing to consider changes to the law, but she was not open to a wholesale repeal of it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of Election Day that his caucus would seek to reform the Affordable Care Act if Trump is re-elected. Even congressional inaction during a Trump presidency could impact the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have signaled they may allow major subsidies approved during the Biden presidency to sunset. Those subsidies helped ACA enrollment nearly double in recent years.

Murkowski originally voted against the Affordable Care Act in 2009, then voted against its repeal in 2017.

Murkowski, who voted against the Biden Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, also said she would not support its wholesale repeal. Trump has vowed to repeal parts of the bill.

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“There are many aspects of the IRA that are legitimately issues that may be worthy of review. But it’s not unlike what we saw with the ACA, where once the law was in place, you started to see the benefits play out from it,” said Murkowski. She said those include tax provisions that have led companies to invest in microchip manufacturing and green energy technologies.

“People are saying, ‘Well, not sure that I liked what got us here, but I like what’s happening now, so don’t get rid of this,’” said Murkowski.

“Oftentimes it just doesn’t make sense to unspool it all,” said Murkowski.

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In Depth: Gov. Dunleavy discusses Trump victory, Alaska energy, ranked-choice voting

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In Depth: Gov. Dunleavy discusses Trump victory, Alaska energy, ranked-choice voting


Less than one day after Donald Trump’s historic win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy sat down with Alaska’s News Source political reporter Steve Kirch to discuss the electoral win, his own election night experience, what Trump’s victory means to Alaska and the state’s energy resource needs, and how his role as governor might change in the future.



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