Lisa Murkowski defeats Trump candidate in Alaska Senate race while Sarah Palin falls short again

Former president Donald Trump suffered another blow in Alaska as Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski beat one of his endorsed candidates and Sarah Palin lost her bid for Congress.

Ms Murkowski joined six other Republican Senators and every other Democratic Senator to convict the former president for his role in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. Mr Trump had endorsed her Republican challenger Kelly Tshibaka.

Meanwhile, on the House side, Representative Mary Peltola beat the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee to win a full term in Congress. Ms Peltola, the first Native Alaskan to be elected to Congress.

The election marks Alaska’s first general election since it transitioned to a ranked-choice voting system, the top four winning candidates in a primary enter the general election. Voters rank the candidates they want by order of preference. The candidate who receives the least amount of votes is eliminated in the first round and their votes go to voters’ second choice.

This goes on until a candidate receives a majority of the vote. The ranked-choice system was seen as a more favourable environment for Ms Murkowski since she would not have to face a right-wing challenger in a partisan primary.

Ms Murkowski, the daughter of a former senator and governor Frank Murkowski, often clashed with Mr Trump during his time in the White House, leading Mr Trump to say she was “worse than a RINO,” an acronym for “Republican in name only.”

“Thank you, Alaska. I am honored that Alaskans – of all regions, backgrounds and party affiliations – have once again granted me their confidence to continue working with them and on their behalf in the U.S. Senate. I look forward to continuing the important work ahead of us.”