Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin appeared incredulous that she lost her bid to represent the state in Congress ― especially because she lost to a Democrat.
Mary Peltola won the state’s runoff election on Wednesday and will fill the remainder of the late Republican Rep. Don Young’s term.
Peltola is Alaska’s first Indigenous person to hold federal office. Her victory was in part due to ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to list candidates in order of preference.
Under the system, if no one wins a majority of first-place rankings, the last-place finisher is eliminated and their votes are redistributed to voters’ second choices. The process continues until one candidate attains a majority.
As you can see in the video below, Palin seems a little bewildered by her loss.
The former governor questions whether second and third-place votes are “gonna decide who’s gonna win?” and adds an indignant “Really?!”
“Alaskans want Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi?” she asks rhetorically (since neither of them was on the ballot).
Peltola will finish out Young’s term but will face Palin and Republican Nick Begich III again in November to decide who serves a full term in the House.
Still, Palin’s indignant reaction to her loss attracted lots of Twitter snark.