Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced a run for the state’s lone House seat on Friday.
“Today I’m announcing my candidacy for the U.S. House seat representing Alaska,” Palin said in a statement on Facebook. “Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years.”
Palin was referring to former Representative Don Young, a Republican and the longest-serving congressman in the House, who died on March 19. Palin’s announcement came on the same day as the deadline for candidates to submit paperwork to the Alaska Division of Elections, with over 50 candidates filing as of Friday afternoon.
Palin served as governor from 2006 through 2009, and campaigned as former Arizona senator John McCain’s running mate during the 2008 presidential election.
“America is at a tipping point. As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight,” the former governor said on Friday. “At this critical time in our nation’s history, we need leaders who will combat the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda.”
Palin has largely remained out of politics since resigning as governor. However, Palin said she would be “honored” to fill Young’s seat, in comments to Newsmax last week.
“If I were asked to serve in the House and take his place, I would be humbled and honored,” Palin said at the time. “In a heartbeat, I would. We will see how this process goes in filling that seat—it would be an honor.”
A jury ruled against Palin in February as part of a libel suit she brought against the New York Times in 2017, over an editorial that initially linked Palin’s PAC to the 2011 shooting of former Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords.
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