Sarah Palin loses comeback bid in Alaska special election

Sarah Palin speaks to the media at her campaign headquarters in South Anchorage, Alaska, on Wednesday, August 31

(Picture: AP)

Sarah Palin’s bid to return to the frontline of US politics has been thwarted after she lost a special congressional election in Alaska.

The Republican is best known for her unsuccessful vice presidential run with John McCain in 2008 and was making her first bid to return to public office since that defeat.

However she lost out in the race to fill Alaska’s sole House of Representatives sea to Democrat Mary Peltola, who becomes the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress.

Ms Peltola defeated Ms Palin - a former Governor of Alaska who is seen as having helped open the door to a more far-right wing of the Republican Party - by 51.47% to 48.53%.

Mary Peltola becomes the first Alaska Native to represent Alaska in Congress (AP)

She will finish the remainder of the term of Republican Representative Don Young, who died earlier this year, and will face re-election on November 8.

During her campaign, Ms Peltola ran as “Alaska’s best shot at keeping an extremist from winning,” according to her campaign website.

She highlighted her status as “the only candidate in this race who isn’t a multi-millionaire.”