Alaska Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom has dropped out of the race for the state’s sole U.S. House seat.
Dahlstrom made the announcement in a statement on Friday after placing third in Tuesday’s primary election. She received 20% of the vote, with incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola leading with over 50% and Republican Nick Begich III at just under 27%.
In a statement Friday, Dahlstrom said her goal remains defeating Peltola, who she said “certainly isn’t up to the challenge.”
“At this time, the best thing I can do to see that goal realized is to withdraw my name from the general election ballot and end my campaign,” Dahlstrom wrote.
Dahlstrom did not endorse Begich in her statement.
Republican political strategist Matt Shuckerow has worked on numerous campaigns in the past, and said Dahlstrom dropping out sets the stage for a head-to-head race between Begich and Peltola.
“It’s been fairly clear from the beginning that two Republicans against one Democrat would have been a pretty tough path for victory,” Shuckerow said. “And so now that Nick has essentially cleared the field, it’s time to make it count and to deliver on that message.”
Dahlstrom had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Meanwhile, Begich garnered endorsements from a variety of Republican district committees. He previously made a commitment to drop out of the race if Dahlstrom received more votes than he did in the primary in an effort to not split Republican votes in the general.
But even with Dahlstrom out, Shuckerow said, beating Peltola won’t be easy.
“She has been able to fundraise significant amounts of money, more than we’ve ever seen in a congressional race in the history of Alaska,” Shuckerow said. “And so the clock is ticking, and the question is: Will Republicans come together and unite behind Nick Begich? I think they probably will.”
In a statement on Friday, Begich congratulated Dahlstrom on “running a strong campaign.”
“Today we move forward unified in the effort to replace Mary Peltola, who has proven by her alignment with the left that she is not the moderate she claimed to be,” Begich wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The top four candidates in the primary advance to November’s ranked choice general election.
In the most recent election results, Republican candidate Matthew Salisbury follows Peltola, Begich and Dahlstrom with 602 votes, amounting to roughly .62% of ballots.
With Dahlstrom out of the race, Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe advances to the fourth place slot. Howe had 547 votes, or roughly .57%, as of Friday morning.
The Division of Elections will continue counting primary ballots until Aug. 30 and expects to certify the results Sept. 1.
The general election will be held on Nov. 5.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
