Nathaniel Herz

With Monday the deadline to withdraw from the race, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III each ignored a call from the other to drop out in order to improve Republican chances against Democrat Mary Peltola.

The Democrat, who won the special election to serve the last months of the late Rep. Don Young’s term, has seen a surge of national attention as she prepares to take office and campaigns for the November general election.

In interviews after election day, voters and politicians gave mixed reviews to ranked voting. Experts predict a battle in the Legislature next year over a proposed repeal of the system.

Tuck, who’s not seeking reelection, showed that he’d previously disclosed the donation that the Alaska Public Offices Commission alleged that he’d reported late.

Ellie Rubenstein runs a Colorado-based, food-focused investment firm. She’s also the daughter of Alice Rogoff, the former owner of the Anchorage Daily News, and billionaire David Rubenstein, co-chairman of one of the world’s largest investment firms.

Three candidates appear likely to advance to the August runoff. But the fourth is still uncertain, and tens of thousands of votes remain uncounted. We ask and answer some burning questions about how Alaska’s special election will play out.

Democrat Mary Peltola, currently in fourth place, leads by just a few thousand votes with tens of thousands still to be tallied.

With about 78% of the nearly 140,000 ballots received through Saturday counted, results in Alaska’s 48-candidate mail-in primary election show Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich taking early leads, followed by independent Al Gross and Democrat Mary Peltola. The top four candidates advance to the August election.

It marks the end of a unique 48-candidate primary to determine which four advance to an election in August to fill out the term of former U.S. Don Young. The first round of results is expected Saturday night.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan visited Japan last week to help drum up demand for the project.

State officials late Saturday will start counting the more than 100,000 ballots that will decide which four of the 48 candidates in Alaska’s special U.S. House race will advance to the special general election.

Tuck, in a phone interview Wednesday, said he withdrew from the race at the request of his 7-year-old daughter — a decision that leaves an opening for the other Democratic incumbent, Andy Josephson.

All but one of Alaska’s 60 state House and Senate seats are up for grabs in this year’s elections. Here are the ones to watch ahead of the Aug. 16 primary.

“The goal is absolutely to kill it,” said Steve Perrins, who owns Rainy Pass Lodge in the Susitna Valley backcountry and is featured in TV ads opposing the road.

Incumbents will face other incumbents in some legislative matchups while other races don’t have a sitting lawmaker running for reelection, opening up possibilities for political newcomers or flipped seats.