On Tuesday, two Republicans who voted to impeach or convict Donald Trump of impeachment, and faced challengers endorsed and promoted by Trump, were on the ballot. One lost by almost 40 points, while the other easily moved onto the November general election. The difference? One, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, had to run in a traditional party primary, while the other, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, faced voters in the state’s new top four-ranked choice voting system.
Murkowski, along with Reps. David Valadao (CA) and Dan Newhouse (WA), were the only Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to survive their primaries. Valadao and Newhouse live in states that have a similar primary process to Alaska’s, whereby all candidates run on the same ballot and the top two move on to the November election.
For years, advocates for ranked-choice voting and top-two (or four) primary system have argued that these reforms will help to moderate our polarized political system. Instead of having to cater only to one’s base voters, candidates can build cross-party coalitions that appeal to a broader (and more
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The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
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