Democrat Mary Peltola and incumbent Dan Sullivan lead in Alaska primary for US Senate
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
We’re still waiting on the complete election results from Alaska, where it looks like Mary Peltola is ahead for the Democrats and Dan S Sullivan is leading for the Republicans in the race for US Senate.
Incumbent Sullivan is aiming for a third term while Peltola seeks to flip this seat and help Democrats regain control of Congress. The non-partisan primary held on Tuesday will allow four candidates to move on to the general election in November.
Peltola made history as the first Alaska Native and the first woman to serve Alaska in the House of Representatives when she secured her seat in 2022. On the other side, Sullivan faces an unusual challenge from … Dan Sullivan. Dan J Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher and former US Forest Service employee. While Republicans claimed that this 70-year-old challenger filed his candidacy just to confuse voters against Senator Sullivan, the state supreme court determined in June that he was eligible to run and ordered election officials to include him on the primary ballot.
With 66% of votes counted, Peltola leads with 46.8% while incumbent Sullivan follows closely behind at 44.4%. Dan J Sullivan stands at third place with 2.4% of the vote.
In other election news:
Progressive Aisha Wahab currently holds a lead with 51% of votes in California’s special runoff election aimed at filling Eric Swalwell’s former seat. This comes after super PACs associated with AIPAC invested millions backing Wahab’s closest rival, Democrat Melissa Hernandez. According to Associated Press, 62% of votes have been tallied.
In Wyoming, Harriet Hageman-backed by Trump-is leading in the Republican primary for US Senate. Hageman, a conservative lawyer focused on opposing environmentalists, had previously defeated Liz Cheney for Wyoming’s single seat in Congress.
Byron Donalds has secured the Republican nomination while David Jolly has claimed victory as the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida. Endorsed by Donald Trump, Donalds could become Florida’s first Black governor if elected this November. Jolly transitioned from being a Republican last year to join the Democratic party.
Angie Nixon won her Democratic nomination bid for Florida’s open Senate seat by beating out favored Alex Vindman-a retired army lieutenant colonel who testified during Trump’s impeachment proceedings. If elected come November, Nixon would be Florida’s first Black senator as she competes against Republican Ashley Moody for Marco Rubio’s Senate position following his win in 2022.
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Key events
Those not familiar with Alaskan politics might be surprised by some recurring names.
Nope, we’re not referring to Dan S Sullivan and Dan J Sullivan-two Republicans sharing similar names running for US Senate-a situation that reached state supreme court attention earlier this summer. We’re talking about the Begiches. Nick Begich III leads his race as a Republican candidate vying again for Alaska’s congressional seat while Tom Begich-a Democrat-is moving forward into November’s gubernatorial election.
Adding another layer of complexity: Nick Begich III won his current House seat from Mary Peltola-who is now competing alongside incumbent Senator Dan S Sullivan after defeating first-term Democratic Senator Mark Begich back in 2014.
The Begich family has been politically active since Nick Begich Sr., a Democrat elected into Congress representing Alaska back in 1970; his sons include Tom Begich and Mark Begich while their nephew-and Nick Sr.’s grandson-is Nick Begich III.
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Currently two Democrats are ahead within all-party primaries concerning Alaska’s governorship.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins along with Tom Begich are set to advance toward November’s general elections having garnered respective support percentages thus far: Kreiss-Tomkins leads at 21.7%, followed closely by Begich at 20.1%!
Trailing these two Democrats are three Republicans: business owner Bernadette Wilson holding onto 10.5%, ex-Anchorage mayor Dave Bronson tracking at around 8.4%, along with former attorney general Treg Taylor standing close behind at roughly seven-and-a-half percent!
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In additional primary updates regarding congressional races: Republican Nick Begich III appears poised once more as he seeks reelection within representation over Alaskan interests through their sole House position!
Similar too what we’ve seen previously throughout various contests; here we see another non-partisan format allowing four hopeful contenders moving forward come November into official voting rounds!
Beg ich , who narrowly secured victory versus Mary Pel t ola (the frontrunner ) fo r h er current status i n th e Ho use , ha s obtain ed approximately forty six point two pe rcent o f votes wi th independent Bill Hill capturing thirty one point one percent!
Democrat Mat t Sc hul tz fol lows next wi th eig ht point one pe rcent , w ith fellow Democr atin fourth plac e Er ic Ha fn er tracki ng down around three point eight perce nt! John Williams also adds another voice amongst competition pulling up via t wo point five perc ent overall tally!
Based upon recent coverage provided via Associated Press reports suggest seventy-seven percent o f ballots ha ve officially been accounted!Share
Updated a t six oh one EDT
Who i s Na talie Har p ? Tru mp ’ s clo sest an d mo st de voted aide i s i n th e spotlight
David Smith
W ear ing shou l der-length b londe hair , g old ear rings an d red dress , cancer survivor Nata lie Har p introduced herself dur ing t he two thousand twenty R ep ublican national con vention as “a fo rm erly forgotten Ameri can fro m Califor nia” whil e compar ing Don ald Tr um p w ith Georg e Bailey-the everyman hero portrayed by James Stewart within clas sic film It ’ s A Wonder ful Life.
“George Bailey ’ s father was right,” smil ed Har p , her vo ice echoing throughout Andrew W Mel lon auditorium amid pandemic imp act faced within Washington. “All you can take wi th you is that which you’ ve given away. Mr President , that makes you t he richest man i n t he world.”
Six years later now findin g herself closely aligned among those surrou nding Trum ps inner circle ; Natalie works officially serving und er title special assistant assisting president alon gside executive responsibilities placing annual salary reported approximating $150K yearly !Her un official role however finds its way leaning towards being termed human printer providing printouts sought aft er by him consistently ! And despit e receiving minimal attention over time previously share under any conversations regarding Trump simply appearing more like minor character playing background roles only..
In case you missed it : NBC News rep or ted yesterd ay reveal ing recent activity initiated unde r U. S Department Justice issuing subpoenas looking int o whether or not Da n J Su ll ivan intended partaking entry process regardin g Ali ask ans aspiring vote cast toward incumb ent Republi can Sena tor D an Su ll ivan so mehow complicat ed voter decision making processe
Citin g unnamed law enforcement officials ; sources claim these subpoenas form parts tak en relating federal investigational aspects so far..Share
Democrats seem optimistic hoping swift changes could pave ways influencing favorable outcomes supporting challengers striving push against traditional strongholds encountered along districts statewide areas..
So likely keeping eyes glued monitoring those remaining counts coming through ensuring fullest clarity emerges! Here ‘sumption penned issues surrounding possibilities remain ongoing ever-evolving !
