Bipartisanship in focus in debate for Alaska's only House seat

The candidates running for the at-large congressional seat in Alaska appeared to pledge bipartisanship in the only debate of the race, which will feature ranked-choice voting – although not all the candidates, especially former Gov. Sarah Palin, could resist getting some partisan shots in.  

While Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is the incumbent, she won a special election to replace the late Don Young in August and was sworn in on Sept. 13. Peltola, the first woman to represent the state in the House and first Alaska Native in Congress, is also the first Democrat to hold the state's House seat in nearly 50 years – a state former President Donald Trump won in 2020 by 10 points.

Since arriving in Washington, Peltola has tried to emphasize her bipartisan credentials and even has retained many of Young's staff. Last week, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she would be ranking Peltola first.