Alaska Senate Seat Leans Democratic for First Time in 18 Years
The shift comes as Democrat Mary Peltola extends her poll lead, despite White House efforts to boost Senator Dan Sullivan.
Alaska's Senate race appears to be leaning Democratic for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to a key indicator from the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. Sabato's Crystal Ball has moved the state from a toss-up to a Lean Democratic ranking, while South Carolina has been demoted to a likely Republican seat.
This shift is significant as Alaska has not been a consistently blue state since 2008 when Democrat Mark Begich defeated Republican incumbent Ted Stevens. The recent polling shows Democratic candidate Mary Peltola leading Republican Dan Sullivan by a substantial 7 points, a stark contrast to the Quantus Insight poll which showed the candidates neck-and-neck.
The impact of the top-four, ranked choice voting system and the current Democratic environment are also believed to be aiding Peltola's campaign.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
