Former US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin failed in her political comeback attempt to get elected to the House of Representatives in Washington. The arch-conservative politician and supporter of ex-President Donald Trump lost to Democrat Mary Peltola in a by-election in the state of Alaska on Wednesday.
The election became necessary after the death of Conservative MP Don Young, who had been in the US House of Representatives for 49 years, last March.
The election defeat is a serious defeat for Alaska’s former governor Palin. But the 58-year-old gets the chance to take revenge in the fall: in the nationwide midterm congressional elections on November 8, the constituency in Alaska will also vote again. With the by-election on Wednesday, the parliamentary mandate was only awarded for a few months.
Palin was surprisingly made his running mate in 2008 by Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The Christian-conservative outsider and the experienced senator lost to the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his then vice-candidate Joe Biden. Palin resigned as governor of Alaska in 2009.
She is a staunch supporter of Trump. The ex-president had supported the ex-governor in the election campaign and made a joint campaign appearance with her in July.
Trump’s Republicans hope to be able to take over the Democrats’ majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives in the midterm elections. In the months-long primary, Trump is attempting to consolidate his hold on the Republican Party by backing certain candidates loyal to him, including backing his false claim that he lost the 2020 presidential election to massive voter fraud against Biden. (AFP)
