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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Matanuska-Susitna Valley, a lush part of the state where lakes are fed by melting glacial water, is where Sarah Palin began her political career three decades ago. At the heart of the state’s conservative movement, she rose from city council member to mayor of a small town before defeating the incumbent Republican governor and being nominated by the Republican Party for vice president in 2008.
But for developer Jesse Sumner, who was born and raised in the valley and was elected to the local municipal assembly in 2018 on the platform of fiscal conservatism and gun rights, it’s all a distant memory overshadowed by what he sees as years of political neglect. Now, as Palin seeks a return to the race for the only seat in the US Alaska House of Representatives, she will not receive his support.
“I think maybe she left us somewhere on the road to fame,” said Sumner, who backed one of Palin’s opponents last fall and did not change his plans. He complained that Palin, who has spent much of the past decade as a right-wing celebrity bouncing between reality TV, cable news and the Trump movement, has not been involved in Alaska politics since leaving office in 2009.
When she appeared at a Republican fundraiser last year, “everyone was surprised to see her there,” Sumner said.
Similar sentiments shared by voters and activists across the state in recent interviews hang over Palin’s campaign for open space. This is the first time in five decades that Republican Don Young, who died last month, will not vote. The four best votes in the non-partisan primary elections in June will move to special elections in August under the recently introduced voting system. Nearly 50 candidates took part in the race.
Don Young, dean of the House of Representatives, has died at the age of 88
But no one is as famous outside of Alaska as Palin, which makes the race a test of the strength of a national political celebrity in a state where local connections and reputation have long been crucial. She announced her campaign on April 1, two weeks after Young’s death, submitting documents to begin minutes before the state’s deadline.
The campaign has also become a barometer of the influence of former President Donald Trump. Years before Trump was elected president, Palin embodied a similar brand of militant policies that inflamed far-right voters and worried many in the Republican leadership. She backed him in 2016, and he backed her this year, although many key Republicans in the state have gone in different directions.
When asked about Palin’s candidacy, Republican Sen. Lisa Markowski (daughter of Frank Markowski, Governor Palin once defeated) singled out the other four dozen candidates and said she could not name the last time she saw Palin in Alaska because it was ” years. ” Murkowski is also facing re-election this year, with Trump backing her main rival, Kelly Chibaka.
Palin’s campaign did not satisfy requests for an interview with her. The campaign issued a written statement from an unnamed campaign adviser saying Palin “believes America is at a turning point and that hard-working Alaskan men and women deserve a champion in Washington to fight for them against the destructive policies of the end.” The statement echoed Trump’s reference to “fake news” and the disregard for “elites in Washington.”
But there are few signs of a detailed political platform from Palin. Her statement said she wanted to help Alaskans “lead the next energy renaissance.” Her campaign website is thin in detail and instead shows photos of her in fishing bikes, horseback riding and Trump rallies. Her Twitter show advertised approvals from national Republican figures such as former House spokesman Newt Gingrich and former South Carolina Gov. Nicki Haley.
Palin may still be working on his strategy and message just seven weeks before the primary, but Alaska Fairbanks political science professor Amy Lovecraft said the House campaign is surprisingly quiet in terms of advertising and events. She attributes this to the quarrel caused by Young’s sudden death and the adaptation to the new non-partisan primary format. In addition, she said, highly recognized candidates can wait their turn if they are expected to advance to the first round.
“People who think they have the best chance in Young’s place can save their money on knockdowns, pulling elections later,” Lovecraft said.
The Republican State Congress kicks off on April 21 in Fairbanks and will focus on the upcoming election. Palin offered to bring musician and right-wing provocateur Ted Nugent to the congress, according to someone familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, but organizers rejected her offer, citing a busy schedule. Regular party members say she has not participated for more than a decade.
Palin’s whereabouts have sparked speculation in Alaska, especially when she was involved in buying a property in Arizona after leaving office. She and her ex-husband Todd are still included in the tax assessments of their long-standing and sprawling property in Alaska, and the campaign says she is a lifelong Alaskan resident who still lives with her younger son in Vasila. She has consistently voted in the Alaska election, releasing absent ballots in 2020 and 2014, according to ballot data.
Palin jumped to national glory when she was elected to the then Sen. John McCain’s candidate in 2008, but after the loss, Palin said she was disappointed with the costly and time-consuming court battles and shocked the state’s political sky again by stepping down as governor less than three years after her term.
Instead, she focused on building her national brand: lucrative book deals, a contract with Fox News that ended in 2015, and appearing in a psychedelic costume at The Masked Singer, rapping her own version of Baby Got “on Sir Mix-a-Lot Back.”
The fame came at a price as her personal life spilled over into the tabloids with her divorce in 2020 from her husband of more than 30 years, repeated arrests of her eldest son and appearances of her eldest daughter on television, including MTV’s Teen Mom OG.
Palin is touring the country looking for right-wing candidates, and she has sown some of the seeds that will become the Trump movement in 2016 with her support of the tea party, her dismissal of the lame media stream and her false warnings about panels of death of “Obamacare”
After Young’s death on March 18 at the age of 88, dozens of candidates flooded the race to fill the rest of his term – even Santa Claus (he legally changed his name in 2005), a liberal city councilor from a city called the North Pole. A conservative candidate, Nick Begic III, was already challenging Young and ordering approvals in the Mat-Su Valley months ago, including Sumner’s. The largest influential and wealthy corporations owned by locals go with another Republican, Tara Sweeney. Another Republican, Sen. Josh Rewak, has the support of Young’s widow.
Remembering the representative Don Young from Alaska
Young was reluctantly respected by some Alaskans, who seldom agreed with him, but still called on him to help. Anchorage-based Alaska-based artist John Hagen said he felt heard when he turned to Young’s office, especially when he worked as a fisherman.
“One thing I’ve definitely felt is that the power of this place has always been used for the benefit of the state of Alaska,” Hagen said.
A statement from her campaign adviser said Palin “will be honored to follow in the footsteps of Don Young (realizing he left big shoes to fill!”) Who serves Alaskans with dignity and dedication. of the American principles of liberty and freedom. “
On August 16, when voters in Alaska decide the winner of the special election, they will also face a list of primary candidates for the general election to decide who will take the place for the regular two-year term, which begins in 2023.
While Trump’s support is seen by many Republicans as helpful to Palin, as he won Alaska in 2020 with 53 percent of the vote, local analysts and activists said it was not as big of an advantage as it would be in other states.
Palin’s national political celebrity is not always liked by local voters, according to Anchorage sociologist Ivan Moore, who has been tracking her popularity in Alaska for a decade. Moore said in a poll in October that last time, 56 percent of respondents had a negative opinion of Palin, compared to 31 percent who had a positive impression. Nearly two-thirds of the negatives are “very negative”.
“It’s great to have a 100 percent name, but when more than half of these people don’t like you, you won’t get a lot of votes,” Moore said.
A common refrain he has heard is contempt for her decision to step down as governor.
“Now you’re talking to people, they’ll say ‘she’s giving up, she’s giving up.’ Why will people vote for you again? “
Anchorage voter Marne Eggleston moved to Alaska in 2015 and said she had never felt Palin’s influence in the state.
“The only time I’ve heard of her is on the national stage,” Eggleston said.
Palin’s name kept popping up, Eggleston recalled, when she first moved to Alaska, and friends asked her if she could see Russia from home, citing a line from Palin’s Tina Faye parody of Saturday Night. Live “.
Eagleston was fed up with Palin at the time. She recalls the initial thrill of 2008 when she saw a woman chosen as McCain’s candidate.
“Then she started talking,” Eagleston said.
Eggleston said she was so disappointed when Palin struggled to answer key questions about foreign policy or her reading habits that she voted for Democrat Barack Obama, even though he was a Republican at the time.
However, Palin has fans who defend her record and …
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