With Alaska voters turning out in historic numbers for a mid-August election, the 49th state has just elected a Native grandmother from rural Alaska as its temporary congressional representative.
Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is someone with low name recognition from a town of 6,500, far away from the hustle of the political world. Before June, hardly any Alaskans even knew her name.
How did this happen in a state where President Donald Trump won just two years ago by a 10-point margin? (RELATED: DOWNING: Dems Have A Shot At Snaking Alaska’s Lone House Seat. Here’s Why)
Chalk it up to the new “ranked choice voting” method voted into law by Alaskans in 2020 and tried for the first time on Aug. 16, when Alaska held both a regular primary and a special general election.
In the special general election part of the ballot, Peltola beat the most famous person in Alaska history, Sarah…
