Palin May Have a Problem in Alaska—Fellow Alaskans

She is running for Congress, but two national stories suggest locals aren't thrilled
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2022 7:32 AM CDT
Palin's Biggest Problem in Alaska Might Be Alaskans
Sarah Palin is running for Congress.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Sarah Palin is running for Alaska's lone congressional seat, but she might have a problem if two stories with very similar themes are any indication. "Alaskans are tired of Sarah Palin," declares a headline in Politico, while another in the Washington Post reads, "Many Alaskans are skeptical of her." The gist of both pieces, based on interviews with locals and those familiar with the state's politics, is that ordinary Alaskans feel Palin abandoned them after she shot to national fame as John McCain's running mate. One common gripe is her decision to resign as governor in 2009. “You talk to people now, they’ll say, 'She quit, she’s a quitter,'" an Anchorage pollster tells the Post. "Why would people vote for you again?”

Or as Brett Hill, who lives near Palin's own town of Wasilla puts it to Politico, "Alaskans don’t quit on anything. … She got sucked in by the glamor of all that Washington, DC, bul----, in my opinion.” Palin did not speak to either national outlet, but in an interview with Alaska's Anchorage Daily News, she defended her national profile. “If people—and again, I believe these are going to be the political people in Alaska—if they’ve taken issue that I haven’t been hobnobbing around, in the halls of the Juneau Capitol, and been to their cocktail parties and all that, nope," she says. "I am a normal person, using the platform that I do have in every way possible, to promote Alaska to help good Alaskans succeed.”

Palin, 58, is one of nearly 50 candidates vying to fill the seat of the late Republican Don Young in June's nonpartisan primary. The top four finishers will move on to a special election in August. Palin's campaign—she filed to run just minutes before the deadline—has been relatively low key so far and short on specific policies. One line of thought is that she's banking her name recognition will secure her a top-four finish in June, at which point she will get more aggressive. (Palin has secured the endorsement of Donald Trump.)

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