Before the deadline on Monday, Republican candidate Matthews Salisbury dropped from the race for Congress. That leaves Nick Begich as the only Republican on the ticket, facing three others this November: Incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola, Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, and Democrat Eric Hafner.

Salisbury had gotten 652 votes in the primary. By taking his name off the general election ballot, he ended up moving a second Democrat into the final four for Nov. 5, when voters are asked to rank the candidates in the order of their preference.

Rather than first through fourth-place finishers being on the ballot, as intended by the new open primary, ranked-choice general, it’s now the first, second, fifth, and sixth place candidates.

In this race, the Republicans intentionally cleared the track for Begich, who was the leading candidate coming out of the Alaska primary in August.

There were a few other last-minute drops in state Senate and House races:

Senate Seat D: Andy Cizek withdrew before the deadline. Sen. Jesse Bjorkman is being challenged by Republican Rep. Ben Carpenter and Democrat Tina Wegener.

Senate Seat R: James Squyres withdrew before the deadline. Republican Rep. Mike Cronk, false-flag undeclared Democrat Savannah Fletcher, and Alaskan Independence Party candidate Robert Williams are the only ones left on the ballot.

House District 6: Nonpartisan Alana Greear withdrew, leaving nonpartisan Brent Johnson and Republican Dawson Slaughter to challenge Rep. Sarah Vance, the Republican incumbent.

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Research at the University of Arizona Valley Fever Center of Excellence has taken a giant step in pursuing a Valley Fever vaccine for humans.

Researchers have secured $33 million from the National Institute of Health.

Valley Fever is a respiratory illness caused by a fungus. It thrives in places with little rainfall and high summer temperatures, like Arizona.

13 News’ podcast “Danger in the Dust”

“Arizona has two-thirds of all US infections, so we really should feel a certain responsibility to do something about that,” said Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona.

Valley Fever can be mild or even deadly, and yet there is no vaccine to prevent it.

“A small percentage of people have an illness that actually goes through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, outside of the lungs, and causes meningitis or bone infections and those patients need lots of medical care,” Galgiani said.

Due to this, Galgiani said a vaccine is needed.

One is currently being reviewed for dogs, and because of that work, Galgiani believes it could be developed for humans.

“I’ve been thinking about a human vaccine all along but taking this through the dog is really a very useful step to show proof of the concept, making the idea of taking it to humans that much more attractive,” Galgiani said.

Through their research, they have taken a gene out of the fungus that causes the disease. When they did this, they found the fungus was no longer able to cause the disease. That same fungus creates robust protection.

“Potentially means that maybe if you used it as a vaccine in humans, you wouldn’t have to do it again. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of vaccine,” said Galgiani.

Galgiani added that a human vaccine would benefit everyone, including special groups.

“One would be people who work in the dirt, and that’s very hard to protect against because the respirators are very cumbersome, so having a vaccine to prevent infection would be really valuable,” Galgiani said.

This vaccine is still a few years off from being available in doctor’s offices.

The dog vaccine could be in veterinary offices within a year. If approved, it would be the world’s first vaccine against a fungal infection.

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Dear Eric: I recently married the love of my life. It’s a second marriage for both of us and we are an interracial couple. We had a small wedding, about 50 people, with only family and close friends. We had family travel in from many states.

My brother, who lives in Texas, declined to come and said it was because the wedding was in California. He is very conservative. I was very hurt that he didn’t come to my wedding for political reasons and because I’m not sure if it goes beyond politics.

Based on his views, I suspect he may not have approved of my divorce and my subsequent choice to marry a Latino. My parents are deceased and I only have two siblings. It would have been nice for him to try to fill the void of my dad and let me have more than one of my family of origin present on this important day in my life.

Now his son is getting married in Texas. I feel, as Californians, we may not be welcomed with open arms based on the refusal of my Texan brother to come to our state. Although we received an invitation via mail, I’m not sure he wants us there. My husband feels we should go to show this is what family does for each other, show up and support despite our different beliefs.

– Conflicted Sister

Dear Sister: It’s news to me that Texans can’t go to California and vice versa. If residents of the two largest states in the “lower 48″ aren’t welcome across each other’s borders, we’re in big trouble. How will famed Texan Matthew McConaughey film his movies?

If you feel that your nephew’s wedding will be a safe environment, psychologically, for you and your husband, you should go as a way of living into your values. Talk it through with your husband; you know your family better than he does and can point out any potential trouble. Neither of you should willingly put yourselves in a situation where you’ll be discriminated against.

Hopefully, the issue is just with your brother and not the rest of the family. Whether you go or not, you and your brother should have a talk because there’s a lot that’s unsaid and it’s going to come out one way or another. Tell him how you felt when he skipped your wedding and challenge him on any racist beliefs he has. For family, showing up is great, but saying the hard thing is key.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.