The parents of Sarah Palin’s ex-husband held an election-eve party for her opponent for Alaska‘s open House of Representatives seat on Monday night.
Jim and Faye Palin hosted the event for Republican Nick Begich III at their home in Wasilla. More than 100 people were in attendance, according to Must Read Alaska.
Palin, who as Alaska governor was tapped to be late Senator John McCain’s running mate on the 2008 GOP presidential ticket, is one of three people running to replace late Rep. Don Young.
Young, who won Alaska’s only House seat in 1973, died in March at the age of 88.
Palin’s attempt at a political comeback is endorsed by Donald Trump – but it appears she does not have the support of her ex-in laws.
The event was a consequential one for Begich’s campaign too, as the setting of his final campaign speech before Alaska voters head to the polls on Tuesday.
Palin’s former mother-in-law told Newsy that she was not supporting Begich out of any dislike for the ex-governor, but rather because she ‘only has one vote.’
Faye Palin’s son Todd Palin shares five children with his ex-wife.
Begich was supported at the Wasilla fundraiser by a host of local officials including the city’s mayor, Glenda Ledford.
Sarah Palin’s former mother-in-law Faye Palin told Newsy reporter Nathaniel Reed that she was not supporting rival Nick Begich out of any dislike toward her ex-daughter-in-law
More than 100 people reportedly attended the Monday evening event in Wasilla, according to Must Read Alaska
Faye Palin also cast doubt on her then-daughter-in-law’s viability as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee in an interview from the time
He reportedly knocked Palin for spending so much time out of state during the campaign and called for expanded use of Alaska’s natural resources as well as ramping up its tourism industry.
And he’s even received dollar donations from the grandparents of Palin’s kids, campaign finance filings show.
Faye Palin made two $250 donations to Begich, one in May ahead of the special primary race and another in late June.
Jim Palin gave $250 to Begich in May.
DailyMail.com has reached out to both Palin and Begich’s campaigns for comment.
It’s not the couple’s first time expressing doubts about their former daughter-in-law’s political ambitions.
Days after Palin was selected as McCain’s running mate, Faye Palin told the New York Daily News in 2008 that she was still unsure whether to vote for the late Arizona lawmaker or Democrat Barack Obama.
Faye Palin said of her son’s then-wife, ‘I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she’s a woman and a conservative.’
‘Well, she’s a better speaker than McCain,’ she added.
Jim and Faye (pictured in 2010) have also donated a combined $750 to Begich’s campaign this year
Sarah Palin and Todd Palin initiated divorce proceedings in 2019. The ex-governor later said in an interview that she found out her then-husband wanted a divorce through an email from his attorney
Sarah and Todd Palin filed for divorce in 2019 after more than three decades of marriage.
Todd Palin initiated the proceedings, according to NBC, because of ‘incompatibility of temperament’ and said it was ‘impossible to live together as husband and wife.’
In November of that year, Palin told Family Talk Christian ministry that she found out he wanted a divorce via an email from his lawyer the previous June.
‘I thought I got shot,’ she recalled feeling about the email, which reportedly came shortly after their 31st wedding anniversary.
Palin told the New York Post in 2022 that both were now dating other people.
As of January this year, the former governor and short-lived on reality TV star was connected to former New York Rangers ice hockey player Ron Duguay.
Nick Begich III is a Republican businessman who is running to fill the remainder of late Rep. Don Young’s term
Palin’s campaign has been endorsed by Donald Trump, who held a rally to stump for her campaign in Anchorage last month
Recalling the break-up, however, she told the outlet: ‘It was the most earth-shattering, bizarre thing I could have ever imagined and it kind of remains so.’
Tuesday’s race will see Begich and Palin face off with one other candidate, Democrat state lawmaker Mary Peltola, to both fill the remainder of Young’s term and decide which two candidates advance to November’s general election.
The winner will serve until the end of the 2022 and have to win again in November to serve another two years.
All three candidates advanced past June’s special primary election, which is open to both parties thanks to a ballot initiative passed in Alaska in 2020 that also sets up a ranked-choice voting system.
Trump held a rally in Anchorage last month to stump for Palin as well as Republican Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka.
Tshibaka is running to unseat incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski, who Trump targeted after she voted to hold him accountable for last year’s attack on the US Capitol.