By SUZANNE DOWNING
Former US Rep. Mary Peltola launched her bid for the US Senate early Monday morning Alaska time, releasing her campaign announcement at about 4 am — a timing that aligns with the East Coast political news cycle rather than Alaska’s. She appears to have leaked the news to a Alaska public broadcasting reporter in advance.
The Democrat is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, who enters the 2026 race with a massive financial advantage, having already raised more than $6 million.
Peltola served one partial and one full term in the US House, becoming the first Alaska Native elected to Congress. In spite of having massive funding from outside the state, and outspending her opponent 20 to 1, she lost her seat in 2024 to Republican Nick Begich.
Her campaign relaunch arrived with a carefully produced video filmed on the Kuskokwim River, featuring fishing scenes, family moments, and a return to her old slogan: “Fish, family, freedom.” The video also strikes a nostalgic tone of old Alaska, before the settlers arrived.
Peltola attempted to connect herself to that tradition by invoking the late Sen. Ted Stevens — but she misquoted his famous line. In the video, she says Stevens often declared, “To hell with politics. Put Alaska first.” Stevens’ actual line, which he repeated for decades, was “Do what’s right for Alaska.”
The video also frames her Senate bid as a broader political statement, tying “Alaska first” language to national politics. “It’s about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska first and, really, America first looks like,” she says in the announcement, insulting the current team representing Washington and former Rep. Don Young.
Dan Sullivan ties for No. 1 in Senate for bills signed into law
Behind the scenes, Peltola’s run had been widely anticipated. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer had been urging her to run, viewing Alaska as a chance to force Republicans to spend money defending a seat they would rather use to help GOP candidates elsewhere. Her announcement was expected last week, at the start of the first fundraising quarter, and Peltola was seen in Washington, DC, interviewing campaign managers shortly before the launch.
Senate Republicans were ready.
“Mary Peltola is radical, ineffective, & Alaska LAST. She locked out Alaska energy, rubber stamping Biden & his harmful agenda. She voted for higher costs, men in women’s sports, & open borders. She couldn’t even get a single bill signed into law. Now, she wants a promotion,” the NRCC said.
Mary Peltola is radical, ineffective, & Alaska LAST.
She locked out Alaska energy, rubber stamping Biden & his harmful agenda. She voted for higher costs, men in women's sports, & open borders.
She couldn't even get a single bill signed into law. Now, she wants a promotion. pic.twitter.com/HtKKaiianw
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) January 12, 2026
Some political analysts believe her path to victory is narrow in a state that has been trending Republican in federal races. Even so, a competitive Senate contest in Alaska could serve a strategic purpose for Democrats by tying down Sullivan’s campaign and limiting his ability to help Republicans nationally. Her candidacy shows Alaska how weak the Democrat team is that they could not find a candidate other than Peltola.
The race is already shaping up to be one of the most expensive in Alaska history. Sullivan’s last Senate campaign in 2020 drew more than $57 million in combined spending by candidates and outside groups. Sullivan was outspent in that race but still defeated independent challenger Al Gross by a comfortable margin.
Both parties are expected to spend tens of millions again in 2026, particularly with control of the US Senate likely to be closely contested.
Negative ads keep pounding Sen. Dan Sullivan, but there’s still no viable opponent for ’26
Peltola’s candidacy also creates an awkward political triangle with Alaska’s other senator, Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski previously endorsed Peltola over Republican Sarah Palin in the 2022 special House election and has often aligned more closely with Peltola than with more conservative Republicans.
But that will not be the case this time. After refusing to take a position when asked two weeks ago who she would back, Murkowski said Thursday that she has made her decision and will back Sen. Sullivan.
With Peltola now officially in the race, Alaska’s Senate contest is set to become one of the most closely watched — and heavily financed — races in the country in 2026.
Lisa Murkowski won’t back Dan Sullivan, and that tells you everything
18 thoughts on “Breaking: Mary Peltola launches Senate bid against Dan Sullivan in pre-dawn rollout; immediate pushback seen”
Good grief Charlie Brown! Peltola is like a spawned out Sockeye Salmon flopping around the river with a green headed brain running a red communist body! You know, the Red-Green alliance thing! Spit the hook Mary, it’s over!
It may not be over for her yet we need to get a couple good strong Republicans running I will not vote for Dan or Nick. 74% of alaskans told them to eliminate the trailers and if they won’t represent 74% of the population what makes you think they’re going to represent you.
I will not vote for lack of integrity. I won’t even rank them in the primaries. So hopefully the Republican Party can pull up some decent candidates they have until June 1st to file
Trawler’s not trailers
Why are you repeating a push poll that was conducted by Arabella-funded $almon$tate? Are you paid by them or are you just one of the lemmings that is susceptible to their ‘campaign’?
Here we go again: the US is trying to tell Alaskans what we want by funneling millions in dark money to a candidate that was easily defeated in a rigged election (AKA ranked choice voting). Come on folks it’s time to get outside money out of Alaska elections. BTW the Mary I know never returned my calls, tipped her nose up at me when I wanted to talk policy. She’s not good for Alaska.
Taxpayer, your comment is confusing. In 2024, Begich beat Peltola 164,117 to 155,763 (a 2.6% margin of 8,354 votes) which did not show Peltola as “easily defeated.” Rather, it was a squeaker. You say she was “defeated in a rigged election,” as if Begich supporters did the rigging? Then, you say Peltola “is not good for Alaska.” ???
Peltola is a useless tool for the Democrats. She failed on “fish”, she certainly failed on “family” – who was caring for her many children? Finally, she failed on “freedom” – not a whisper from her on the importation of 10,000 illegal aliens into Alaska by the Biden administration. Those 10,000 flown in the dark of night over a period of 4 years claimed homes, apartments, school seats, SNAP benefits, housing allowances, Medicaid, and transportation benefits that denied Alaska residents “freedom” to recover from the CV-19 economic fallout in a state teetering on a fiscal cliff.
She’s an utter waste of political capital.
Just remember to click the pro-Peltola and anti-Sully ads you encounter while surfing 🏄♂️ about. I believe the advertiser ‘pays per click.’ Then simply return to the page you were reading. It takes only a few seconds to spend their money 💰 And the owner of the page you’re reading reaps the benefit of your effort. 🏆 🥇
Amazing! So let me get this straight. She lost her re-election bid to Nick Begich because she was so incompetent, now she wants to replace Sullivan, who is one of the most effective senators in congress. Peltola needs to receive the Darwin Award.
A vote for Mary Peltola is a vote for Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and Ilhan Omar.
Listen to the commenters on here criticizing Peltola. Let’s not forget she defeated both Palin and Begich in her first and second ranked choice elections. We know she will be heavily funded in this next campaign. We all need to stop wasting time criticizing her. Peltola is not our problem. She is merely a symptom. Our problem is the thousands of fellow Alaskans that support and vote for her. We must direct our energy toward eliminating the mind virus infecting these fellow Alaskan voters. Let’s focus on the problem rather than the symptoms.
I am sticking to her slogan…To Hell with Peltola-keep Alaska First!
Squawking at 4:00 am. Up and working at the crack of dawn. That should silence all of those “lazy Mary” capitalists. Of course, she could have been up all night partying like she did for two years in DC.
4:00am is a great time for me to reflect…….on my incredible journalistic diatribes at the keyboard, and of course, counting a few dollars from my Marxist sycophant donors. Aha….just enough to make two more rounds to the liquor store. Goodnight!
We already have one unhinged karen (ie: Lisa), why do we another!?!?
Election of Ms. Peltola could revive the Leftist/NGO/USAID “self-licking-ice-cream-cone” where government gives BILLIONS AND BILLIONS to Leftist NGOs, the NGOs fund all sorts of Leftist projects and propaganda and then money is diverted back to Leftist politicians. Trump has cut the “self-licking” operation but much of it remains functional. Senator Murkowski, based on her conduct and statements, seems to support the Leftist project.
Ick. Expect to be inundated with millions in Outside funds pushing the incompetent Mary Many-Husbands, or as we remember her, “She Who Hides In the Bathroom Because She Doesn’t Want To Vote And Let Us Know Where She Actually Stands”.
Peltola knows her only chance in this race is via Ranked (Rigged) Choice Voting and election fraud that remains to be addressed. I would venture she would not have gotten into this race had RCV been defeated in 2024.
I can’t wait for the advertisement with her holding a fishing rod upside down, again.