Alaska's ranked choice vote proves Peltola won on merit

Alaska's 2022 U.S. House race was not decided by a split Republican vote, according to a letter to the Anchorage Daily News, which argues ranked choice voting results show Mary Peltola won on merit. First-round totals were Peltola with 75,000 votes, Sarah Palin with 58,000, and Nick Begich with 53,000. In the second round, Peltola received 91,000 votes to Palin's 86,000, with 16,000 Begich voters choosing Peltola and 28,000 choosing Palin. The letter states 9,000 Begich voters had no second choice or selected "other," concluding Peltola's victory came from enough Begich supporters preferring her over Palin. It asserts a traditional runoff would have produced the same outcome.