As the submission deadline approached Friday to run in the snap elections to fill the lonely seat of the US House of Representatives in Alaska, the stadium was packed with current and former lawmakers, former Gov. Sarah Palin and others in attendance. More than 50 candidates had registered by Friday afternoon, according to the Alaska Department of Elections, with the most likely by the 5pm deadline. Some candidates were expected to participate. Other were surprises. others have never been elected to office and have little or no political experience. The election is set to replace 49-year-old state lawmaker Don Young, who died suddenly while traveling back to Alaska two weeks ago. The primary election date is June 11, but this will be the first state postal election in Alaska. The ballots will be mailed to overseas voters from April 27, and Alaska residents have until May 12 to register or update their addresses to receive a ballot. The final results will be announced on June 26, and the top four voters will advance to the special general election on August 16, where the winner will be selected by ranking ballot. Extraordinary general elections are on the same date as the qualifiers for a full term and one or more candidates could run in both the general and regular general elections. The four winners of these qualifiers will advance to a ranking vote in the November general election. Best moments: Return here all day for updates on the candidate field. • • •

Former United States Secretary of State Sarah Palin Vacates in US House

Updated 4:15 p.m. Sarah Palin, who unsuccessfully ran for vice president before resigning as governor of Alaska in 2009, said on Friday she was running for the only seat in her state in the US Congress. “Public service is a calling and I would be honored to represent Alaskan men and women in Congress, as Mr. Young has done for 49 years,” Palin said on Facebook. “I realize I have very big shoes to fill and I intend to honor the Rep.’S legacy. “Young offering myself in the name of service to the state he loved and fought for, because I share that passion for Alaska and the United States of America.” Palin, who confirmed her entry in a statement sent through an intermediary, is one of more than 40 candidates seeking Yang’s replacement. Filed in the office of the Division of Elections in Wasilla on Friday afternoon, where Max Sumner, a partner at a Wasilla housing construction company, was also signing up for the race – his first campaign for public office. “Honestly, when I saw her, I said, ‘Oh, I have no chance of winning,’ ‘not like I did before,’” Sumner said in a telephone interview Friday. Sumner said state election officials were shocked to see the testimony from Palin, who had been campaigning in recent days. “I did not expect that in a million years,” Sumner said. “I was like, ‘Why not?’ Sarah Palin, of course, will run again.” Palin and Sumner applied about an hour before the 5 p.m. The fight has officially reached the point where everyone and their brother have entered: Sumner’s brother, Jesse, a member of the Mat-Su town council, said he was also applying to run before the deadline. [Curious Alaska: What’s Sarah Palin up to these days?] • • •

Emil Notti, who ran against Don Young in 1973, enters the race

Emil Notti delivers the keynote address on the first day of the Alaska Federation of Natives conference at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks on October 20, 2016. (Loren Holmes / ADN) Update, 3:55 p.m. When Republican Rep. Don Young won his first term in Congress in a special election in 1973, his Democratic opponent was Alaskan Indigenous leader Emil Noti. Nearly 50 years later, Noti, 89, applied to run again, weeks after Yang’s death left his seat open. Noti, a lifelong Democrat, said he would only run in the by-elections to complete Yang’s term. “Just to look after Alaska’s interests, anything that can happen in that short space of time,” he said earlier this week. Noti was the first president of the Alaskan Native Federation and one of the architects of the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act. He also served as commissioner of two government agencies and chairman of Doyon, Ltd., the Alaskan Native Homeland Company. In an interview on Friday, he said the decisive factor that pushed him to run was the “support and encouragement” of friends and acquaintances from across the state. “They trust my judgment. “They think I have the ability to do what needs to be done.” Despite his age, Noti said he is in good health. “I’m not looking for a long-term career, so it was not really a difficult decision,” he said. His 1973 campaign could serve as a blueprint for his current campaign, he said, because both were special elections with short pre-election periods. (edited) – Iris Samuels and Nat Herz • • •

Tara Sweeney submits documents to run in US special elections

Tara Sweeney in 2020. (Loren Holmes / ADN) Updated 3:20 p.m. Tara Swinny, an Alaskan indigenous leader who co-chaired the re-election campaign of U.S. MP Don Young until his death last month, will run in the snap and regular elections to replace him. Sweeney is Iñupiaq and served as Assistant Secretary of State for Indian Affairs during the Trump administration. He has also worked as an executive at Arctic Slope Regional Corp. and was co-president of the Alaskan Native Federation. Sweeney’s mother, Eileen Panigeo MacLean, served three and a half terms at Alaska House representing rural communities, including Utqiagvik, a hub in North Slope, then known as Barrow. “In recent days I have heard from countless Alaskans across our state encouraging me to run for Congress,” Sweeney said in a statement. “After deep reflection and with a humble heart, I will respond again to the call to serve the state and the people I love.” Sweeney added that “she is excited to share my vision for the future with my colleagues in Alaska” in the coming weeks and declined to comment further until next week. Among the dozens of candidates running for Sweeney is Yang’s other co-chair of Anchorage’s Republican campaign, Josh Revak. – Nat heart • • •

Among the candidates are many who do not live in Alaska. This is allowed.

Update, 14:30 Two men from California and one from Montana are among the candidates who have applied for the special elections for the US House of Representatives in Alaska to replace MP Don Young. The three out-of-state candidates registered by noon Friday are Robert Ornelas of Alameda, California. John Richard Myers of Cut Bank, Montana; and David Thistle of La Jolla, California. The federal constitution, which sets out the conditions for serving in Parliament, requires elected members of Parliament to live in the state they represent, but does not require candidates to do so. A 1972 U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejected a residence requirement imposed by Tennessee and said other states could not require applicants to be residents. Out-of-state candidates have registered for Alaska federal games in the past. In 2018, Carol Hafner from New Jersey won about 15% of the vote during the Democratic House qualifiers. (Alyse Galvin won the primary and was defeated by Young in the general election.) Thistle is running regularly for overseas elections across the country and has run for president in the past. On the phone, he said he believed it was important for states to be accountable in the language of the Constitution, which allows Americans to run for office in other states. He said he wanted to “first and foremost defend the Constitution”, but in terms of his qualifications for the post, the disabled veteran said: “I am probably the worst candidate for the job. “I’m probably the least prepared.” Myers, who is registered to vote in Alaska with his address in Montana, did not respond to a call for comment. (Alaska allows non-state residents to vote here if they intend to return to the state.) Neither Ornelas nor Thistle are registered to vote in Alaska. Ornelas confirmed his stay in Alamenda, but asked further questions to a friend in Anchorage, who said Ornelas intended to move here for a campaign. – James Brooks • • •

Former MP Andrew Halcro is running

Andrew Halcro in 2018. (Loren Holmes / ADN) Update, 2:10 p.m. Andrew Halcro entered the race as a non-partisan candidate, promising to run only in the snap elections and not to run for office in the November elections. The former Republican lawmaker argued against running in both races, saying a candidate running in the by-elections would spend the rest of Don Yang’s term in office. “From mid-August to the first week of November, they are on the campaign trail. “Don Young’s shoes do not fill,” said Halcro. Chalcro served as a member of the Republican state representing Anchorage between 1999 and 2003. He hosted a political podcast distributed by the Anchorage Daily News. (ADN stopped hosting the podcast when Halcro decided to consider running.) The car rental company executive has also served as president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority. He created his political experience, along with the time he hosted a political podcast, as he prepares for the role. “When you compare my qualifications with all the pioneers, I am at least capable, if not more capable than all,” he said. Chalcro is still a registered Republican, but he works as an offline. “I just do not recognize anyone in my party. They do not understand the economy. They do not understand the communities. “They do not understand society,” he said. Halcro is considered a …