Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin leads Saturday's special primary election for the state's only U.S. House seat. The former Republican vice-presidential nominee, who has not served as an elected official since 2009, has 29.8% of the vote as of Sunday afternoon.

The other top candidates are Republican Nick Begich with 19.3%, Independent Al Gross at 12.5%, and Democrat Mary Peltola with 7.5%.

There were 48 candidates on the ballot to fill the seat of Rep. Don Young, who died on March 18. Young, a Republican, had held the seat for 49 years.

Straying from his Democratic family, Begich is the grandson of former Rep. Nick Begich Sr., and nephew of Alaska Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich. He is also the nephew of Mark Begich, who served as a U.S. Senator for Alaska from 2009 to 2015.

Gross is a surgeon and commercial fisherman, who ran for senate in 2020. Peltola is a former state legislator.

One candidate, whose name is "Santa Claus," received 4.5%, while running as a self-described “independent, progressive, Democratic socialist.”

Alaska’s new election system calls for the top four candidates to advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The state’s special primary election will take place on Aug. 16 and will be based off of a ranked-choice.

It's the first time Alaska uses a rank-choice system since the state's voters narrowly approved it in 2020.

Palin, 58, has remained a prominent public figure among conservatives. She was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who said that it was his “payback” for her support in his successful 2016 presidential bid.

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