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Peltola holds brief Juneau rally during Senate campaign stop
- Ellie Ruel
- May 15
- 5 min read
Affordability and ‘Alaska-first’ focus remain cornerstone of her messaging
By Ellie Ruel
Juneau Independent
In a closely controlled appearance at Dimond Courthouse, former Democratic U.S. House Rep. Mary Peltola spoke briefly on her U.S. Senate campaign agenda at a rain-drenched rally as part of a three-day stop in Juneau.
More than 100 people turned out Thursday evening to support the candidate with signs and cheers.
Before Peltola spoke, staffers encouraged the crowd to move closer to the podium to give the circulating camera operators a better view of the audience. During a five-minute speech, she invoked former Gov. Tony Knowles, Rep. Don Young, and Sen. Ted Stevens as examples of public service she wanted to bring back.
“We need people who are willing to set aside their own personal interests, their own personal ambition, their own personal stock portfolio, and work for the people. Work for Alaskans,” Peltola said. “There is a rigged system in Washington, DC. I saw it firsthand the two years that I worked there. I was shocked. It is not a system where bills are before you and you're working for people. It's a system where attack ads are created with your tax dollars.”
Peltola is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in a race that could decide which party holds the Senate majority. Republicans currently control 53 of 100 seats, meaning Democrats could regain control of the chamber by flipping only four seats.
The Cook Political Report moved its prediction from "Solid Republican" to "Lean Republican" when she entered the race because of her “unique political stature in Alaska and her proven crossover appeal,” but notes Sullivan still has an advantage in a state President Trump won by 14 points in the 2024 election.
According to an April 23 Alaska Survey Research Poll, Peltola leads by 6.6 points in a hypothetical ranked-choice voting matchup. Unlike previous polling from October 2025, this lead is well outside the poll’s margin of error. The Anchorage-based firm has a "left-center bias" and "high-credibility" rating by the website Media Bias / Fact Check.
Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, opened Thursday’s rally by saying the country needs a Senate that “does its job.”
“We need a United States Senate that doesn't give over power to the judicial branch to act in unfettered and bizarre ways that upend our constitution in favor of one branch of government, the current executive branch,” Kiehl said. “We need a United States Senate that will protect our right to vote. Ladies and gentlemen, I am frightened. I am worried for our next set of elections. I truly am.”
Speaking to reporters briefly after the rally, Peltola addressed questions on some of her “Alaska first” agenda items, like whether her proposal to eliminate federal income tax for half the state’s population would be applicable nationwide.
“I would be happy if this was an Alaska carveout,” she said. “But I think every state in the union and every household across the country is looking at inflation and our wages not going as far as they used to.”
When asked how much blame she assigned to Republican President Donald Trump and his administration for rising costs and inflation, she said there’s not a balance of powers at the federal level currently.
“Clearly, this administration has an outsized role in the direction, whether it's tariffs or wars,” Peltola said. “We have got to have a Congress that doesn't just cede all of their power. We've got to have a Supreme Court that stands up for Americans, for citizens, and we just…it just seems like both of those branches are laying down on the job.”
Local organizers spotlighted spikes in the cost of living in their introductory speeches. Colin Kalk, Peltola’s regional organizing director for Southeast Alaska, described gas prices, prescription costs, and health insurance costs rising.
“I have a somewhat dark sense of humor, and I have often joked that I may not always live in Juneau, but I do plan to die here,” Kalk said. “And when I say that, what I mean is I plan to grow old here and retire, but there are moments where it feels like Dan Sullivan is speeding up the process by pricing me out of everything, because I think we know that all he cares about is saying yes to special interests and whatever makes him even more rich.”
Bronson Frye, the Alaska representative for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 1959, said “the people doing the hardest work are the ones often falling the furthest behind.”
“We need people who still know the price of groceries, people who know what it means to punch a clock, people who still answer to workers, not lobbyists,” Frye said. “She is a champion for the working class, and that's what we deserve, and that's what we need, and that's what we're going to get with Mary in the Senate, she's not owned by billionaires. She's not auditioning for cable news. She sure as hell doesn't think that public offices are supposed to be lifetime appointments.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Taylor Beard, who brought her sons Otis and Arlo to the rally.
“I’ve always been pretty politically active. I support Mary Peltola,” Beard said. “Dan Sullivan routinely does not vote in favor of Alaskans. He votes for whatever President Trump wants, and often that does not benefit Alaskans. She has a beautiful history of voting for Alaskans, even if it’s across party lines.”
Ida Meyer, 19, and her 17-year-old sister Eva stood on the sidewalk above the plaza holding red signs handed out by rally organizers. For them, climate issues are a highlight of Peltola’s campaign.
“We care a lot about Alaska and the fish and the climate, and I think she has a lot of good policies for protecting the fish but also being responsible with that,” Ida Meyer said.
Marcelo Quinto said he’s supporting Peltola for a change in leadership that looks after Alaskans. He was born and raised in Juneau.
“I'm going to be 85 next month,” Quinto said. “I grew up here before this was here, and all that, but to see the way that the Native people and the minority people lived, we had a very difficult time. But today we're all back at the same place, but this time everybody's in the same spot. Housing, labor, medical, all of those things. Now it's affecting all of us, especially here in Juneau.”
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com.
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