Opinion: Sarah Palin lost the battle, but won the war

Editor’s Note: Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 24 books, including, “The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment.” Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

CNN
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The results are in: Democrat Mary Peltola has defeated former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in their House race, a loss that could mark the end of Palin’s political career. The fact that a Democrat won in Alaska, a state that has gone Republican in every presidential election since President Lyndon Johnson’s landslide 1964 defeat against Sen. Barry Goldwater won’t sit well with GOP party elders.

But Palin’s political legacy will endure. The former Alaska governor was a pivotal figure in mainstreaming a new style of Republican politics that ignored traditional guardrails. Her brand of conservative populism weaponized social and cultural outrage and mobilized working class Americans.

Palin, in short, mastered Trumpism long before Donald Trump ever set foot in the White House.

The then-Alaska governor’s few months as Sen. John McCain’s presidential running mate in 2008 was time enough to create a template that has been used ever since in conservative campaign politics. In creating the current playbook, Palin borrowed liberally from the smashmouth partisanship employed by former Speaker Newt Gingrich. But she took his combative, corrosive approach to a whole new level.

SE Cupp: Palin followed fame but Alaskans were turned off (September 2022)

Many establishment Republicans initially were excited about Palin. They hoped a dynamic female governor would energize McCain’s flagging campaign. During her convention speech, Palin, formerly mayor of the Alaska town of Wasilla, took a swipe at her Democratic opponents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for what she portrayed as an elitist tendency to “look down” on blue collar Americans.

“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities,” Palin said, lobbing an…