美国国家公共电台 NPR--Sarah Palin faces Alaska voters again in a special election for Congress

Sarah Palin faces Alaska voters again in a special election for Congress

Transcript¹

Alaskans go to the polls Tuesday to decide, among other things, whether to send former governor and Republican vice² presidential nominee³ Sarah Palin to Congress.

The right-wing Republican is among three candidates in a special election for Alaska's sole U.S. House seat. Palin is up against Republican Nick Begich III and Democrat⁴ Mary Peltola in the first test of Alaska's new ranked-choice voting system.

The winner will serve until the end of the year, finishing the term of GOP Rep. Don Young. He died in March after serving 49 years.

Begich is a wealthy tech entrepreneur. He was co-chair of Young's 2020 campaign but turned on the incumbent⁵ the next year and ran to Young's right. He comes from a family of prominent Democrats⁶ and is named for his grandfather, the congressman⁷ who held the seat before Young.

With two conservatives splitting the vote, Peltola, a salmon⁸ advocate and former state legislator from western Alaska, is likely to gain the most first-choice ballots¹⁰. But the winner of the special election won't be known until the end of August, after all the mailed ballots arrive. That's when the Alaska Division of Elections will tabulate¹¹ the rankings. The third-place finisher will be eliminated and the ballots that went to the candidate will be reallocated according to the voters' second choices.

Palin has called it the "screwiest system" that "makes no sense to most voters."

A slim majority of Alaska voters adopted the new method in 2020. It pairs a nonpartisan primary with ranked choice voting in the general.

To win the special general, one of the conservatives would have to get enough second-choice votes from the other to overcome Peltola's likely lead in the first round of counting.

The two Republicans have been attacking each other for weeks while leaving Peltola alone.

Palin recently called the Democrat a "sweetheart," even as she attacks Begich for supporting Democrats in past races.

Begich has called Palin a "quitter," tapping into the disappointment many Alaska Republicans felt when she resigned as governor in 2009 in the wake of her unsuccessful campaign as John McCain's vice presidential running mate in 2008.

"We picked her to do a job, and she didn't bother to finish it. Because she wanted to go out there and get rich and famous," a Begich ad says.

While they need second-choice votes, Begich and Palin have a more immediate¹³ concern.

"Game No. 1 has to be that you don't come in third," said Art Hackney, a Republican consultant¹⁴ working for Begich. "Because if you come in third, you are, you know, moot¹⁵ to the whole thing, and it becomes your second-choice votes that are the things that matter."

To complicate¹⁶ this election day for voters, it is also the day of the regular primary.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican who supports abortion¹⁷ rights, is on the ballot⁹ for reelection with 18 challengers. Among them is attorney and evangelical pastor¹⁸ Kelly Tshibaka. She, like Palin, has the endorsement¹⁹ of former President Donald Trump²⁰.

The Alaska Republican Party would like to punish Murkowski for voting to convict Trump at his second impeachment²¹ trial, but the new system eliminates the partisan¹² primary. The top four vote-getters will advance to the November ballot. Murkowski and Tshibaka are both sure to make the cut, along with Democrat Pat Chesbro, a retired²² educator.

Also at stake this election season: Who will serve the next full term in the U.S. House. Begich, Palin and Peltola are all in that race, too.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 tabulate   

v.列表，排成表格式

参考例句：

• It took me ten hours to tabulate the results.我花了十个小时把结果制成表格。
• Let me tabulate the results as follows.让我将结果列表如下。

12 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

15 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

16 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

17 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

18 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

19 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

20 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

21 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

22 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。