Jeff Benkert
Updated: 4 hours ago Published: 7 hours ago
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Third time's a charm. For Nick Begich III, that means he's on track to win Alaska's only Democratic congressional district for the third consecutive time, a feat that would have former Rep. Don Young turning over in his grave.
Begich's tireless run for office has one fundamental flaw: He doesn't understand how Alaska elections work. In fact, his willingness to find new ways to lose is remarkable.
Begich completely misunderstands how Alaska's unique and tricky election system works. Despite having the chance to rally the Republican Party behind one candidate, and after finishing third twice, he decided to continue despite a clear lack of support. Thus, Begich conceded his seat to Mary Peltola, but did not urge voters to put Sarah Palin in second place. He made it clear that the only thing he cared about was himself, not the future of Alaska.
Now Begich came up with an even worse idea: instead of using ranked choice voting to favor Republicans, he declared August as a Republican primary and whoever lost would drop out. Mary Peltola herself, with $2.5 million in cash on hand, may have encouraged this idea. Instead of running a campaign under the current law, he now expressed the idea of ​​wasting all his resources and encouraging Republicans to attack each other again.
Campaigns need fundraising dollars to draw contrast, especially against a sitting Democratic congresswoman who is raising millions of dollars per quarter. They can win ranked-choice voting and use a top-four primary as a huge advantage to conserve resources. Or Republicans can attack each other and drain resources in an effort to win a non-existent primary.
I know which one Mary Peltola would want.
Simply put, Begich does not understand how campaigns work. His filings with the Federal Election Commission show he has no concept of safeguarding campaign finances. Begich's campaign owes himself $425,000 in personal debt. Last quarter, he spent more than he brought in. Any money he raises goes directly to campaign consultants and vendors. To make matters worse, he doesn't receive support from big outside donors. That's harsh for someone who runs his campaign as a “businessman.”
I know Republicans are at a disadvantage in ranked-choice voting and I hope to repeal this law in November. For now, Republicans must play with the terms they're given and not go along with Begich's flawed plan to use money for Republicans to attack each other while Peltola sits back and laughs.
Begich is right that one candidate should withdraw, before the primary, and that candidate should be him.
Instead of being a third-time loser, he should just admit that his campaign strategy didn't work. It never has worked, and it never will. The only candidate who can win is Nancy Dahlstrom.
Jeff Benkert is a business owner who lives in Anchorage.
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