Former vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin(R) announced a bid for Congress on Friday.
She will run to fill the House seat held by the late Republican Rep. Donald Young, who passed away last month as the longest sitting member in the history of Congress at 49 years.
“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 said in a statement announcing her return to politics. “I realize that I have very big shoes to fill, and I plan to honor Rep. Young’s legacy by offering myself up in the name of service to the state he loved and fought for.”
Palin joined the race less than an hour before the deadline, and she will be among nearly 40 candidates to fill Young’s seat.
Palin has not been an active political figure since joining the John McCain ticket in 2008. McCain and Palin lost the election to former President Barack Obama and then-vice president and current President Joe Biden.
The former governor was once highly approved of in her home state but after she resigned, Alaskans’ perception of her drastically changed. Her favorability rating sat at 31 percent as of last October, according to a poll conducted by Ivan Moore of Alaska Survey Research.
Former President Donald Trump was one of the first to endorse Palin.
“Sarah shocked many when she endorsed me very early in 2016, and we won big,” Trump said in a statement released by his Save America political action committee. “Now, it’s my turn! Sarah has been a champion for Alaska values, Alaska energy, Alaska jobs, and the great people of Alaska.”
