Keith Girard
Does Sarah Palin have a future role in national politics? New polls suggest not.
A race against Alaska’s Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is her best chance of regaining a national platform and renewed influence on the nation’s public agenda.
The 2008 vice-presidential candidate said on Fox’s “The Sean Hannity Show” that she has “considered” a 2014 run for Begich’s seat in Washington. But she would face an uphill battle, according to a February poll by Public Policy Polling .
Begich led Palin 54 percent to 38 percent among Alaska voters in a possible Senate contest, according to the polling organization.
Although the state tips slightly Republican in voting, Begich is popular across party lines. Voters, overall, approve of Begich’s job performance 49 percent to 39 percent. He fares better among independents, with a 54 percent to 32 percent rating.
In a separate survey, 49 percent don’t want Palin to hold public office again in any capacity. Still, 35 percent were open to the idea of seeing her in office again, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Palin herself said she is taking a wait-and-see approach. “I’m still waiting to see, you know, what the lineup will be and hoping that, there again, there will be some new blood, new energy — not just kind of picking from the same old politicians in the state,” she told Hannity.
Palin positioned herself as a maverick and outsider when she was tapped to run with Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign against Barack Obama. But she proved to be highly polarizing and her command of the issues was weak.