Mary Peltola enters US Senate race against Dan Sullivan
- Mark Sabbatini
- Jan 12
- 4 min read
Former Democratic congresswoman promotes ‘Alaska first’ agenda in announcement video; Cook Political Report changes race’s rating from ‘solid Republican’ to ‘lean Republican’
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola announced Monday she is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska held by Republican Dan Sullivan, using talking points similar to some of his in a two-minute launch video when she declared "our future also depends on fixing the rigged system in D.C. that's shutting down Alaska while politicians feather their own nest."
The announcement puts the race high on the national political radar since Peltola is "probably the only candidate that can make it competitive," the news site Semafor asserted Monday. Other national publications made similar declarations, with NOTUS calling it a "major recruiting coup for Democrats" and The New York Times reporting it gives the party "a big boost as they fight an uphill battle to win back the Senate in the midterm elections."
The Cook Political Report updated its ranking for the race on Monday, moving it from "solid Republican" to "lean Republican." The Senate currently has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who generally side with Democrats on votes — and the site considers three Democratic and four Republican races competitive.
"Senate Democrats have landed another key recruit in their battle for the Senate majority, convincing former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola to challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan," the update states.
Peltola, who served one full two-year term as Alaska’s lone U.S. House member from 2023 to 2025 before being defeated by Republican Nick Begich III, said she again is making "fish, family and freedom" her agenda. But she also invoked former Republican Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, stating they "ignored Lower 48 partisanship to fight for things like public media and disaster relief because Alaska depends on them."
"People were shocked that I prioritized going back to Alaska in July to help put up fish for our family," she said, referring to criticism she received for being absent from votes while serving in Congress. "But Alaskans understand. Growing up, Alaska was a place of abundance. Now we have scarcity."
"The salmon, large game and migratory birds that used to fill our freezers are harder to find, so we buy more groceries with crushing prices," she added. "It's not just that politicians in D.C. don't care that we're paying $17 a gallon for milk in rural Alaska, they don't even believe us. They're more focused on their stock portfolios than our bank accounts. When they actually work together on something it's usually to help themselves."
Sullivan, elected to the Senate in 2014, is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and has heavily criticized former President Joe Biden for an agenda the senator says sought to lock up Alaska‘s natural resource industries such as oil and mining. Sullivan repeated many of those points during a keynote speech at the inaugural Alaska Young Republicans State Convention in Anchorage on Saturday.
The senator also referred to past times in describing what he felt characterized the state’s true spirit.
"I'm sure many of you here, you've met Alaskans from what I like to call the ‘TAPS generation,’ he said. "They participated in building something, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline — in record time, by the way — that was transformative for Alaska and America at a time when our country desperately needed Alaskan energy. Alaskans, some who lived here for generations, some who came up here for those TAPS jobs, built one of the most important pieces of energy infrastructure in the world, and they stayed. They built businesses. They started families."
Sullivan said he believes such times are possible again now under Trump, who has issued an executive order mandating the repeal of rules that inhibit maximum use of Alaska’s natural resources, as well as seeking an aggressive military buildup that, among other things, includes heavy investment in the state.
Peltola, in her video, used the words "Alaska first" multiple times — a counter to Trump’s constant "America first" references — along with some salty language that also has become more frequent in modern political times. "D.C. people will be pissed that I'm focusing on their self-dealing and sharing what I've seen firsthand," she said. "They're going to complain that I'm proposing term limits, but it's time. Systemic change is the only way to bring down grocery costs, save our fisheries, lower energy prices and build new housing Alaskans can afford. No one from the Lower 48 is coming to save us."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
