Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will advance to the November general election for the state’s sole seat in the U.S. House, NBC News projects.
Republican Nick Begich and Democrat Mary Sattler Peltola will also appear on the fall ballot, NBC projects. It was too early to call the fourth contender.
A win would mark a political comeback of sorts for Palin, who became a household name when she was tapped to be the vice-presidential running mate in John McCain’s failed 2008 White House bid against Barack Obama.
A darling of the defunct right-wing Tea Party movement, Palin abruptly resigned as governor in 2009.
Palin was also competing against both Republican and Democratic candidates to serve the remainder of the term for the seat in Congress that was vacated by the death of GOP Rep. Don Young in March.
The special election was conducted using the new ranked-choice voting system. NBC projects no candidate will win a majority of the votes in the first round. Results in that race are not expected to be fully tabulated until later this month.
Palin, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, came first in the primary race in June. Like the former president, Palin has worked as a political commentator and a reality-TV figure since she gave up the governorship.