Long-serving Alaska Republican Representative Don Young's death last Friday after 49 years in Congress was barely four-day-old news. His funeral wasn't even slated to take place for another week.
But that didn't stop Alaska's former Republican Governor and 2008 Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin from talking about replacing him in the House of Representatives.
Speaking with far-right network Newsmax on Monday, Palin teased the idea of taking Young's seat "in a heartbeat."
See Palin's remarks below.
She\u2019s baaaaaack! After the death of Rep. Don Young, Sarah Palin says she is ready to head to Congress to fill his \u201cbig shoes.\u201dpic.twitter.com/2YQoNLAIGN— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647903683
Speaking to Newsmax's Eric Bolling, Palin gushed about filling Young's "huge shoes."
"Oh my goodness, think of those huge shoes that are to be filled when we consider Don Young's longevity and his passion, his love, his fighting spirit for our wonderful state of Alaska, and for the nation as a whole."
"If I were asked to serve in the House and take his place, I would be humbled and honored and I would in a heartbeat, I would."
Shrugging and averting her eyes from the camera in what seemed like embarrassment, she said:
"When I have nothing to lose as is the case today, yeah. I think it would be good for my family even."
Twitter wasn't exactly enthused about the prospect of a Congresswoman Palin.
Oh dear God no!\n\nSarah Palin is considering a bid to replace late Rep. Don Young.https://themindshield.com/sarah-palin-is-considering-a-bid-to-replace-late-rep-don-young/\u00a0\u2026— Covie (@Covie) 1647915164
Trust me, no one in Our state is urging or making calls to Sarah Palin to replace Don Young (or any recently vacated jobs in Alaska).https://twitter.com/newsmax/status/1506019064996511746\u00a0\u2026— Don Rearden (@Don Rearden) 1647914554
Remember that Sarah Palin wants to fill the "Big Shoes" of Don Young.pic.twitter.com/3lGep7WKBC— Nick Varga - #PardonReality Anti-Anti-Vaxxer! (@Nick Varga - #PardonReality Anti-Anti-Vaxxer!) 1647978311
If you're looking for a TLDR, Sarah Palin doesn't realize that in Alaska you must be elected to office, she thinks someone is just going to appoint her to a house seat.\n#Alaska #sarahpalin #congresshttps://thehill.com/homenews/house/599140-sarah-palin-says-shed-serve-in-don-youngs-seat-in-a-heartbeat\u00a0\u2026— Stephen Kurant (@Stephen Kurant) 1647927284
Palin: If I were asked to\u2026take his place, I would be humbled and honored and I would in a heartbeat, I would.\n\nRS: Palin wouldn't be asked, it isn\u2019t an appointment, she would have to run a campaign.\n\nMe: She\u2019s whistling to big $ donors to ask her.https://www.rawstory.com/sarah-palin-congressional-race/\u00a0\u2026— I am who I am (@I am who I am) 1647978732
She couldn\u2019t get elected to dogcatcher.https://www.rawstory.com/sarah-palin-congressional-race/\u00a0\u2026— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1647910554
Bringing back characters from 15 seasons ago?? The writers are getting lazyhttps://twitter.com/axios/status/1506273974786875405\u00a0\u2026— TheOmniZaddy \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@TheOmniZaddy \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647959817
How long before she'd quit? Like her last elected office?\n\n#PalinQuitterhttps://thehill.com/homenews/house/599140-sarah-palin-says-shed-serve-in-don-youngs-seat-in-a-heartbeat\u00a0\u2026— Confunctionist (@Confunctionist) 1647921308
Sarah Palin would not be a step up. Young was the stupidest politician I ever talked to, but Palin makes him look like a genius. To his credit, Don Young never quit. Palin did. @SarahPalinUSA— MusicMan51 (@MusicMan51) 1647910908
Those shoes will fit her just fine once she packs the toes with Adderall.https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1506070864554516485\u00a0\u2026— Quinn Cummings (@Quinn Cummings) 1647913486
Now we know we're in the worst timeline.https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1506043323076825094\u00a0\u2026— Rick Wilson (@Rick Wilson) 1647908950
Palin's government record is spotty.
She resigned while serving as Republican Governor of Alaska. Her prior experience was on the Wasilla, Alaska city council and two terms as mayor of the same city.
While the current Governor of Alaska can appoint a replacement until a special election can be held, the state appears to have opted for a special election in either May or June of this year to replace Young.
Following newly passed legislation in Alaska, the special election will be the first to use ranked-choice voting similar to the system in place in Maine.
Whether Palin runs or not, it's going to be an interesting race.
