By Suzanne Downing 
File this column under “On the Other Hand.”
If we think Mary Peltola is sitting on the sidelines without a plan, we may want to think again. The congresswoman may not have announced her next move, but it’s entirely possible she’s playing a long game, and she’s playing it well. Democrats do play the long game.
Read Part I here:
It’s been pointed out to me that there are signs that still point to Mary running for governor. But why should she announce now and give her Republican opponents nine months to pick apart her thin record in Congress?
By staying quiet, she keeps the spotlight on herself, she keeps everyone talking about her, without the heat. Everyone is intrigued by her, but no one can take direct aim. Meanwhile, every Republican in the field will spend the next nine months attacking each other, dividing the base, ruining each others’ reputations, and draining the coffers. Then Peltola steps in just before the June deadline.
It’s a theory that Republicans might want to consider.
Maybe her actions are not indecision. Maybe it’s a big hairy Democrat strategy. The fact is that political lawyer and strategist Scott Kendall, a Peltola supporter, has been eerily quiet all these months. That indicates there is a plan unfolding.
There’s also a clever subplot unfolding with former Alaska Senator and singer-songwriter Tom Begich. He was the only declared Democrat in the governor’s race, but that may be a setup. If Mary does step in, Old Tom the Bard could easily slide over as her lieutenant governor pick. He’s keeping the seat warm for her.
In the meantime, he’s building up name recognition, raising money, and carrying the Democrat Party flag, all while Mary enjoys months of “earned media” as Alaska’s most talked-about unannounced candidate. It could be a tidy operation: One builds the groundwork, the other glides in late looking fresh and untouchable.
Then there’s Click Bishop – the “Republican” who just picked up a surprise endorsement from the Teamsters. That endorsement came early – very early – and that’s no accident. If Bishop ends up as the Democrat labor machine’s Plan B, it would make perfect sense why the union jumped out ahead of everyone else. But wait, there’s more.
Bishop’s rumored running mate? Possibly Sen. Matt Claman – another Anchorage Democrat who conveniently jumped into the governor’s race. That would complete the symmetry: two ticket possibilities, both designed to keep Democrats viable no matter how the field shakes out.
Democrats, and we have to include Bishop in this case, always have a Plan B. If Mary runs, Tom Begich becomes her running mate. If Bishop runs, Claman’s there. Either way, the machine survives.
Mary doesn’t need to rush. She already has sky-high name recognition and a solid 45 percent approval rating. Why start taking fire early when she can watch the GOP Dozen shoot at each other and do the damage for her?
The Republican Party, meanwhile, needs to stop pretending this isn’t happening. It should move immediately to clarify that Click Bishop is not in good standing and does not have the party’s endorsement or support. That process needs to start at the district level and advance quickly to the State Central Committee for a vote.
If Republicans wait until next summer to act, they’ll lose the moral high ground in calling for unity. And under Alaska’s ranked-choice system, if Bishop manages to make it through the primary as the top “Republican” vote-getter, the party will have painted itself into a corner. It would be disastrous to have to tell real conservatives to “rally behind the R” when the R in question stands for “Rogue.”
The time to act is now, not when Mary finally makes her move.
Because while Republicans squabble and wait, Mary Peltola may be quietly setting the board. And by the time she announces, she’ll already have won the first half of the game.
Suzanne Downing is the founder of The Alaska Story. Click “Subscribe” at the top of this page to get the most-talked-about newsletter in Alaska delivered to your email.
Brilliant analysis. The Democrats are a long game party with LOADS of outside Dark Money and outside strategists. Look at the months long Matrix Media ads bashing Senator Dan Sullivan. If the Dems can insert another RINO into Sullivan’s seat AND scoop the Governors office – there will be no coming back for Alaska. It’ll be blue from San Diego to Utquiagvik. Mass mail-in ballots, mass absentee ballots, RCV and dirty filthy 113% registration voter rolls will ensure their victory. In perpetuity.
Great deduction. I would bet you are spot on. With that said though, I do not understand the allure or popularity of Peltola. What in the world is the approval rating even based on? That I do not get.
I commented on the previous article. Everyone should know this: The Left does not care about labels – they care only about gaining and holding political power by any and all means necessary. They will lie, cheat, obfuscate, twist and fool. Politics is not a game for the Left – it is a necessity; it is existential.
The thought of a Bishop-Claman ticket poses an interesting question. Are they required to share the same affiliation on the ballot or are “fusion tickets” allowed? I never poured through the entire 2020 initiative (and who could blame me, given its size). I did read something the other day describing fusion tickets as the exception rather than the rule across the country. The ADN crafted a narrative, which it held onto for years, which led the uninitiated (especially outside Alaska) to believe that Bill Walker was elected as an independent while Byron Mallott was elected as a Democrat in 2014. Not only was that not the case, fusion tickets were expressly outlawed under the election laws in effect at the time.
Walker-Mallot
Mary is a ruined woman. Damaged goods since she cemented her reputation the two years being the party girl of the US House.
But you likely right AKDemocrats are holding out to see whom AKGoP place in its races. AKDemocrats know they don’t have the greatest choice of candidates and actually AKGoP have more better candidates than them. Some of them are wasting their time in the Govenor race for example No one is going to elect a commissioner to Governor.
The big question is, Who is the best conservative candidate and by that I mean, who is the most electable? If we conservatives are to get behind one person who should it be?