Sarah Palin loses election to represent Alaska in Congress

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been defeated in the special election to represent Alaska in the US Congress.

Democrat Mary Peltola won by a narrow margin on Wednesday. She will be the first Alaskan Native to serve as a lawmaker in Washington for the state.

The race was to fill a vacancy left after the former officeholder died. The seat is up for grabs again in November.

Ms Palin, 58, rose to prominence as a vice-presidential candidate in 2008. She has since become a key Trump ally.

Ms Peltola, 49, has flipped a formerly Republican seat in a state that ex-President Donald Trump won by 10 points in 2020.

The former state lawmaker advocated for abortion access, climate action and the state’s salmon populations.

Ms Peltola ran against two Republicans in the state’s first ranked-choice election, a system that was criticised by Ms Palin during the race as confusing and unfair.

Ms Peltola, who is Yup’ik and grew up in a rural part of Alaska, will also become the first woman to hold the seat.

It had previously been held for nearly five decades by the late Republican Don Young.