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Sullivan, Peltola fling accusations, catchphrases at each other in televised Senate debate
Republican incumbent and Democratic challenger reiterate differences on issues such as Iran war and healthcare, amidst barrage of out-of-context and misleading attacks
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola exchanged a deluge of attacks and talking points, while often giving elusive or misleading responses to questions, during an hour-long televised debate Thursday night that reiterated clear differences between the two candidates on key issues in their nationally prominent U.S. Senate race.
The first half of the debate in particular was marked by angry exchanges and interruptions, with moderator Lori Townsend at one point interjecting to plead "OK, let's have some decorum here, candidates. Please stop. If I have to have mic shutoff I will."
The race pitting Sullivan, a two-term Republican incumbent, against Peltola, a Democratic former U.S. House member, is among a handful across the United States seen as potentially decisive in determining which party controls that chamber during the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The most recent polls as of Friday show Peltola with a slight lead, but generally within the margin of error which makes them a statistical toss-up. Trump visited Wasilla on Monday in an attempt to boost Sullivan’s candidacy as well as other statewide Republican candidates.
Peltola and Sullivan diverged on issues such as the Iran war, commercial trawling and healthcare. They were largely aligned on a few issues including supporting a natural gas pipeline in Alaska, opposing Trump’s plan to purchase diesel from Russia, and support for online youth safety protections.
The tone for Thursday’s debate was set with the first question about ending the Iran war, with both candidates talking about energy costs without answering the question they were asked. That resulted in a follow-up prompt to each from Alaska Public Media’s Liz Ruskin, one of the two questioners at the debate, for direct answers.
Sullivan, in his second reply to what Congress can do to end the war, said "We should be making sure we open the Straits of Hormuz, and make sure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon." Peltola, when asked if she would vote to end the war even if a peace deal with Iran is not in place, said in her follow-up response "There does not seem to be a peace deal on the horizon, and I think it's so important that our military be removed and protected."
Both candidates then opted to use one of the four 30-second rebuttals they were allowed during the debate — during which they strayed away from the Iran war.
Sullivan used his time to claim he’s "leading the biggest buildup of the Alaskan military in our history" — a questionable claim compared to the relative scale of buildup during World War II — while claiming Peltola voted against pay raises for troops and became a lobbyist after serving in the U.S. House two years ago.
Peltola, in her rebuttal, said U.S. weaponry stocks are being reduced while "Russians and Chinese ships are in our waters," she voted twice for pay raises for soldiers, "and Dan just keeps telling lies and Alaskans are sick of it."
Sullivan fired back in his response during the next question, about whether the U.S. should back Ukraine in its war against Russia, by stating "she did vote against a pay raise for our troops because she wanted more transgender surgeries for our troops. That is an outrage."
"That is absurd," Peltola shot back while Sullivan was still finishing his reply. Using the second of her rebuttals, she said "Dan, you should be ashamed of yourself for propagating these lies."
"The first time I voted on the (National Defense Authorization Act) there was trick language in there that would have prohibited our soldiers from getting health care that they needed if they were not stationed in a state that didn't allow for women's reproductive health care," she said. "I'm not doing that to our soldiers. But three other times I voted hard yes in support of our troops."
Another wide split on a major Trump administration issue came when the second questioner, Wil Courtney of Alaska’s News Source, asked the candidates about making healthcare affordable for people, after thousands of Alaskans lost their health care coverage when last year’s federal budget bill ended enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.
"My immediate priority is reversing the damage to Medicaid and restoring healthcare tax credits that Dan Sullivan voted against seven times," Peltola said.
Sullivan, blaming high health insurance costs on the ACA passed during the Obama administration, said $1.6 billion in Rural Health Transformation Program grants Alaska is supposed to receive over five years "is a great opportunity for all of us" to transform healthcare. Critics have noted those grants cannot be used by individuals to pay for private medical bills, doctor visits or prescriptions.
Perhaps the most widely shared moment on social and other media was about how the candidates answered questions, rather than the substance of the replies, due to Peltola frequently reading and referring to notes.
"We weren't supposed to get these questions beforehand, were we?" Sullivan asked after one of her replies about 20 minutes into the debate. "I’m just watching my opponent read from some questions that seem to be answered."
"I’m prepared," Peltola shot back at Sullivan as the moderator confirmed neither candidate had received questions in advance.
Peltola was questioned late in the debate about her treatment of staff and temperament in the wake of a Sept. 23 article in The New York Times that, among other things, cited a text message of hers apparently referencing a Planned Parenthood board member and stating “I hope she dies of a botched abortion.”
"I do not think that this election is about me on my worst day, and I found so many of these allegations concerning and outright fabrications or mass exaggerations of the truth," she replied.
Sullivan, who referenced the article earlier during the debate, was then questioned about Trump's proliferation of derogatory remarks, including women and people with disabilities, with Ruskin asking "Why haven't you denounced his derogatory language as aggressively as you have Ms. Peltola's?"
"Oh, I have denounced the president's language on these kinds of issues. But let me go back to what Mary Peltola said," Sullivan said, using the rest of the answer to revisit the Times article.
When pressed in a follow-up question to name a time he’s denounced Trump’s language, Sullivan referred to a 2015 comment by Trump widely interpreted as a crude remark about the menstrual cycle of a female TV news anchor following a debate she moderated when he was seeking his first term.
Both candidates frequently accused each other of corruption, of association with scandal-ridden people such as Jeffrey Epstein and Elon Musk, and enriching themselves via their political ties. Many of the statements were false or distortions of the truth.
Peltola claimed she is being outspent three-to-one by outside groups — a figure significantly at odds with an Anchorage Daily News story on Oct. 1 reporting $20 million on ads by Sullivan advocates and $15.4 million on Peltola’s behalf, plus current data at campaign finance tracking websites. She also did not mention her campaign’s fundraising of $31.9 million as of Sept. 30 far exceeds Sullivan’s $6.2 million, according to a report by The New York Times published Friday.
Sullivan, in a monetary reference, claimed Peltola "defines the rigged system" because she "was a D.C. lobbyist making almost a half a million dollars" last year after leaving Congress. News and financial disclosure reports show his personal wealth has increased by millions of dollars since he took office — with holdings in one stock growing from as much as $1 million in 2014 to as much as $5 million in 2025 —with the website Quiver Quantitative putting his current net worth at $8.24 million.
Two other Republican candidates — Gerald Heikes and retired Petersburg teacher Dan J. Sullivan — are on the ballot in the ranked choice race for the Nov. 3 election. Participation in Thursday’s debate — co-hosted by Alaska Public Media, KTOO and Alaska’s News Source — was limited to candidates who got at least 5% of the vote in the August primary election.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
