(NewsNation) — NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ has called the race for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of Nicholas Begich. See the results of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate races across the country here.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican challenger Nick Begich were the two leading vote-getters coming out of the primary election, from which the top four candidates advanced to the November general election regardless of political party.
Peltola was first elected to the House in 2022 via special election to replace longtime GOP Rep. Don Young, who died in March 2022. She was later elected to a full term that same year.
Begich, a businessman who lost twice to Peltola in 2022, received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
Two other candidates, John Wayne Howe of the Alaskan Independence Party and Democrat Eric Hafner, also appeared on Tuesday’s general election ballot due to Alaska’s ranked-choice general election system.
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Despite finishing outside of the top four in the August primary, Howe and Hafner appeared on the ballot after Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Republican Matthew Salisbury both withdrew from consideration for the seat.
Hafner will appear on the ballot despite being incarcerated in the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in New York. He’s serving a 20-year prison sentence for threatening public officials in New Jersey.
An Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled that Hafner — who received less than 1% of the primary vote along with Howe — was eligible to remain on the ballot for Tuesday’s election.
Heading into Tuesday’s election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans control the chamber with a narrow majority of 220 seats, while the Democrats occupy 212 with three vacancies.