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Sarah Palin Takes Center Stage in Alaska Primary That Debuts Voting Reforms
newsweek.com ^ | 6/9/22 | Daniel Bush

Posted on 06/09/2022 7:23:51 AM PDT by cotton1706

The sweeping election reforms that Alaska voters approved two years ago were intended to reduce the power of major political parties and benefit centrist candidates who don't cater to either ideological extreme.

But Alaska's new system of open, nonpartisan primaries and ranked-choice general elections may produce the opposite result when it goes into effect for the first time Saturday, in a special election to fill the remaining term of the late Representative Don Young, a Republican who died in office in March after holding the state's lone House seat for 49 years.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and a handful of other candidates on the far right and left have emerged as the frontrunners among the four-dozen candidates on the ballot in the primary race.

Alaska is holding a separate primary election the same day, with the top four finishers going on to the general election in November to determine who will serve the full two-year term starting next year.

If Palin makes it to the August general election, the ranked-choice system might still hurt the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, whose popularity in Alaska has plummeted since she resigned as governor more than a decade ago.

But for now at least the nonpartisan primary format appears to have benefited well-known conservatives, such as Palin and Nick Begich III, who have connections to state and national Republicans — instead of more moderate candidates, as supporters of the voting reforms had hoped.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Politics/Elections; US: Alaska
KEYWORDS: alaska; elections; sarahpalin; votingreforms
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These "reforms" were enacted for ONE reason - to protect insidious Lisa Murkowski.

It'll be nice to see them backfire on them.

1 posted on 06/09/2022 7:23:51 AM PDT by cotton1706
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To: cotton1706

They were enacted to marginalize (eliminate) conservatives in every race.

Alaska’s new electoral system was bought and paid for by big-$$$$ out-of-state liberal activist organizations, for the purpose of making Alaska a less “conservative” state, as Sarah Palin is probably about to find out firsthand.

Alaska also now serves as a guinea pig to test how Rigged Choice Voting works in a supposedly “Republican” state, before Democrats implement it nationwide as they — and numerous RINOs — are desperately trying to do.


2 posted on 06/09/2022 7:39:09 AM PDT by PermaRag (We have SO many targets, and -- for now -- the means to see they get what they deserve.)
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To: cotton1706

Despite being a traditional, normal, common sense Republican, the communist media portrays her as “extremist.” But they never question the insanely extreme evil policies of the globalists and one-worlder ‘centrists.’


3 posted on 06/09/2022 7:49:36 AM PDT by imabadboy99
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To: cotton1706
and benefit centrist candidates who don't cater to either ideological extreme...

Newshit doing what Newshit is always gonna do.

Nice of them to recognize there is Deep Statism on the extreme left, but we must bear in mind any 'centrist' candidate is merely controlled opposition. Palin is no more a right extremist than the founders/framers were right extremists - Jefferson/Madison/Adams/Washington.

4 posted on 06/09/2022 7:50:54 AM PDT by C210N (Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.)
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To: imabadboy99

Newsweek - the “news” publication that sold for a dollar and was overpriced.


5 posted on 06/09/2022 7:55:31 AM PDT by gibsonguy
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To: gibsonguy

Yep, I was amazed, to learn that any of us could have bought a major news magazine, for one dollar.

Then again, aren’t magazines going out of business, do to the internet?


6 posted on 06/09/2022 7:59:01 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: gibsonguy

The whole article was probably just n excuse to show the pic of her leaving federal court after her defamation case against New York Times was dismissed on February 15, 2022 in New York City.


7 posted on 06/09/2022 8:03:15 AM PDT by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave)
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To: cotton1706

I hope she wins. 👍


8 posted on 06/09/2022 8:08:00 AM PDT by Pajamajan ( PRAY FOR OUR NATION. Never be a peaceful slave in a new Socialist America.)
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To: PermaRag

Let’s pull apart the key phrases in the first sentence:

1) Sweeping election reforms
2) intended to reduce power of political parties
3) benefit centrist candidates
4) who don’t cater to either ideological extreme

Now look at the second sentence:

5) open, nonpartisan primaries
6) ranked-choice general election

Points 5 and 6 are a direct contradiction to the claims made in points 1 through 4.

This is all a set up to benefit the liberal establishment and screw Sarah Palin.


9 posted on 06/09/2022 8:34:04 AM PDT by JoeVortex
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To: JoeVortex

Palin is likely to be the first victim of this scheme in Alaska; a Republican Congressman (Bruce Poliquin) was already ousted in Maine solely because of it in 2018. Maine is for now the only other state which uses Rigged Choice Voting in federal and some statewide elections.

As of last November when low-info voters in Alaska narrowly approved RCV after a huge liberal propaganda campaign, Palin wasn’t running for anything and most folks probably thought she never would again. Kelly Tshibaka could easily be victim #2 here.

At any rate it’s not so much about defeating any *specific* conservative candidate like Palin or Tshibaka, it’s about marginalizing ALL of them. That’s why RINOs adore this crap every bit as much as Democrats do.


10 posted on 06/09/2022 8:42:11 AM PDT by PermaRag (We have SO many targets, and -- for now -- the means to see they get what they deserve.)
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To: cotton1706

If she runs on Dems creating inflation and other world crises I imagine even the Dems would support her.


11 posted on 06/09/2022 8:43:29 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: cotton1706

I just cast my vote yesterday, and it wasn’t for Sarah. And this was the first time in 50 years of voting that Don Young’s name was not on the ballot.


12 posted on 06/09/2022 9:50:49 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (In time of peace, prepare for war.)
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To: AlaskaErik

Who’d you vote for? I live in MA and have NO knowledge of local Alaska candidates so am just curious.


13 posted on 06/09/2022 9:55:05 AM PDT by cotton1706
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To: Dilbert San Diego

They would not have sold it to you or me. The were only willing to sell it to a fellow traveler.


14 posted on 06/09/2022 10:03:38 AM PDT by gibsonguy
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To: cotton1706

Maine has RCV, too.

What a coinkydink.


15 posted on 06/09/2022 10:04:34 AM PDT by mewzilla (We need to repeal RCV wherever it's in use and go back to dumb voting machines.)
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To: cotton1706

Wouldn’t that be nice?


16 posted on 06/09/2022 10:11:08 AM PDT by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral cruelty of the Biden regime.)
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To: AlaskaErik

What’s your objection to Sarah?


17 posted on 06/09/2022 10:13:57 AM PDT by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral cruelty of the Biden regime.)
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To: AlaskaErik

“I just cast my vote yesterday, and it wasn’t for Sarah. “

Not criticizing you, but like I predicted on another thread: the Begich voters will show that they despise Palin, and when the general election comes around many of those voters will mark the ultra-liberal Democrat (posing as an “independent”) as their #2 choice just to spite Sarah.

If Begich comes in 3rd out of 4 in November (as opposed to Palin coming in 3rd), Begich’s voters will put the liberal over the top when the provisions of Rigged Choice Voting kick in.

Because they hate Palin more than they hate the ultra-liberal Rat bastard, and they resent her getting into this race because Begich — who is a perfectly good candidate as far as I know — would have won easily otherwise.


18 posted on 06/09/2022 12:07:30 PM PDT by PermaRag (We have SO many targets, and -- for now -- the means to see they get what they deserve.)
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To: C210N

This ranked choice BS is designed to do this. A weak, flip-flopping crap-weasel with no morals and no backbone gets to vote on things however the wind and the most political expedient thing to do blows.


19 posted on 06/09/2022 12:39:55 PM PDT by vpintheak (Live free, or die!)
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To: cotton1706

Go Sarah.. win!
this rigged choice crap should be banned .
There’s gotta be some way to fight this.
who is begich?
It’s as bad as having open primaries here in SC.


20 posted on 06/09/2022 1:28:03 PM PDT by CarolinaReaganFan
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