By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 2, 2026 – Former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola is holding a pair of Washington, DC fundraisers this week, and they are events hosted by a roster of Democratic operatives and industry lobbyists. This comes days after she publicly declared that the nation’s capital is “rigged” by special interests and promised to avoid what she called “insider baseball.”
Peltola is running against US Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is a Republican. She is a Democrat.
Campaign invitations show two events scheduled back-to-back in the capital:
Monday, Feb. 2, 6:30 pm — Reception in Northwest D.C.
The host committee includes Liz and David Steinglass, Scott Eckart, Shannon Hunt-Scott, and CareGIVERS. Steinglass has described himself publicly as a transgender activist. Hunt-Scott lobbies for abortion providers. Eckart is a registered lobbyist whose clients include major pharmaceutical interests.
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 9:30 am — Coffee with Peltola and special guest Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
Hosts listed include Amy Tejral, a Big Pharma lobbyist; Tracy Spicer, who lobbies for entities profiting from Obamacare; Jeff Forbes, a longtime Democratic operative who has worked with Al Gore and Bill Clinton in the White House and served as a senior adviser to the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee; and lobbyists Mike Smith, Eric Tober, Stacy Rich, Todd Webster, Andy Flick, and Sam Whitehorn.
Masto has a radical record of fighting for abortion access without guardrails, more gun control (the NRA gave her an F rating), opposition to immigration enforcement. She has opposed funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless there are more restrictions on ICE, which she wants defunded.
The optics of the events stand in sharp contrast to Peltola’s recent messaging. In public remarks and campaign communications, she argues that Washington is dominated by insiders and special interests and has pledged to steer clear of influence networks. Yet the hosts attached to this week’s fundraisers represent precisely the professional political and lobbying class she has criticized.
The contradiction echoes a broader theme that has followed Peltola since leaving Congress. After losing her seat, she took a position at the law and lobbying firm Holland & Hart, whose government affairs practice advertises its ability to leverage former public officials’ experience and relationships to advance client special interests before government bodies. That move into immediate influence-peddling contrasted with her populist rhetoric about cleaning up politics.
Campaign finance records from her last congressional run further complicate the narrative. In 2024, Peltola raised more than $13 million, with significant contributions from lawyers, securities and investment professionals, and Democratic ideological groups—far from the rural, subsistence-based image often invoked in her Alaska messaging.
Peltola’s allies argue that fundraising in Washington is a practical necessity for any competitive statewide campaign and that meeting donors does not equate to being controlled by them. Critics counter that the host lists tell their own story: while decrying a “rigged” system, Peltola continues to rely on the same national donor networks and policy advocates that dominate Democratic fundraising in the capital.
As Alaska voters assess the early contours of her next campaign, the DC fundraisers raises a central question of whether Peltola’s anti-insider rhetoric represents a genuine break from the influence culture she condemns, or a rebranding of the same influence peddling she engaged in immediately after being kicked out of office by Alaska voters in 2024.
9 thoughts on “DC influencer-class fundraisers clash with Peltola’s anti-insider message”
Mary has and always will be looking out for Mary first.
She is Bethel’s version of Kamala Harris.
Or Bethel’s version of Meagan Markle.
She is a lying snake
Radical left-wing Marxists trying to lure her into a death match with Dan Sullivan.
Sullivan’s wife is an absolutely beautiful Alaska Native lady. Rest assured she will be out in Alaska for the next 10 months campaigning for Dan and a prosperous Alaska. Standing next to Mary, and in stark contrast, she is a perfect 10. And in a big time US Senate race, looks are important. Bye-bye Mary.
There is truth to this statement. Sullivan’s wife will play a large role in her husband’s re-election this year.
Bought and paid for by dark money.
DEI comes to mind. Stupid is very strong in this one. She’s no different than kamala.
She must be really missing the fanfare attention she received in Washington DC. What’s with it with people who once were elected. Its like they have no life beyond the stage of the political arena.
Can’t they who once served in a public office find something else to do. Or is their life so boring and lonely that they need the public arena for friendship.
Maybe Peltola’s children are messed up and she is trying to escape their craziness at home
You know that in Alaska its our leaders children who are pushed the hardest to get into drugs because their parents are indulgent, proud, and don’t spend anytime with them. Their parents are too busy to care about their children’s well-being. In my neighborhood we have a drug house, all the customers who come through are adult children from Alaska’s upper income families.