By ALEX GIMARC
June 12, 2026 – Peltola for Senate tossed its most recent campaign ad into the public airways a few days ago. Radio play is almost overwhelming here in Anchorage.
The message attempts to make the case that it is ungodly expensive to live here in the Bush and it is all the fault of the bought-and-paid-for politicians in Washington, DC who rigged the system against us (which is interesting given Mary’s campaign is located in Anchorage). And Mary is the only one who can possibly do anything about it.
As usual, the important part is what Smiling Mary doesn’t say.
The first of these is:
Why do those problems still exist following her “exemplary” (also unmentioned) term as Alaska’s sole member of the House of Representatives 2022 – 2025? Did she offer any legislation to solve those problems while in the House?
As it turns out, Smiling Mary didn’t identify her current shopping list of Bush problems, the centerpiece of her current campaign (overpriced fuel, food and ammo). Neither did she offer a single piece of legislation to address those difficulties. Not a single one.
And now, she pretends she cares enough to solve those problems For All Alaska.
Yeah, right.
The second thing Smiling Mary conveniently forgets to mention is that no small number of Bush residents cling closely to their notion of the moral and spiritual superiority of a subsistence lifestyle.
I make no value judgment of that choice here other than note that if a group of people choose to live a certain way, whether subsistence, prepper or some other pursuit, actively demand that we respect that lifestyle, and fight for the freedom to practice it on a daily basis, why does that lifestyle choice end up being a political issue, a campaign issue? Why is it the responsibility of the rest of Alaskan voters to elect one of that group to save them from their lifestyle choices, freely chosen, actively and passionately defended?
This is a centuries-old argument. And it is indeed all about liberty.
Peltola’s campaign argument is essentially this:
– Some number of residents in the Bush chose a subsistence lifestyle (unstated)
– They defend that choice to their death (unstated)
– For some reason, the choice leads you to locations with high fuel, food and ammo costs (stated)
– It is all the fault of Washington DC politicians who have rigged the game against us (stated)
– Solution is to elect Mary to solve it (stated)
What a crock.
If any Alaskan chooses to live off the grid, why is it any of my business? Make your choice, and Godspeed on your journey.
On the other hand, if you blame the difficulty of that road on others, particularly Washington, DC politicians who the Peltola campaign in this ad claim to have rigged the system against you, I think you are missing the point. There ought not to be any fault at all. Some roads are tougher to travel on than others. Hard roads tend to be more rewarding, which is often why they are chosen.
Essentially, Mary and her Democrat backers are telling Alaskans that the lifestyle choices of her backers in the Bush are our fault rather than theirs, which is strange as those choices are freely made rather than imposed by anyone else.
And their recommended solution is to elect Mary to the US Senate, where she will do nothing other than cast six years of votes supporting whatever the Democrat leadership in the US Senate tells her to do, something that will make our lives measurably worse, just like her 2+ years as Pelosi’s handmaiden, from late 2022 to early 2025.
Yeah, that will work. Just like it did last time. Not.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
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15 thoughts on “Alex Gimarc: Mary Peltola plays the Native card … again”
Her radio ad could’ve been shortened to:
The Bush is Alaska.
It’s expensive to live in the Bush.
We need the federal government to help us.
Big City Bethel Mary will ride the Pony Express to our aid.
Unite, People of the Bush.
Vote for Mary.
One of the biggest fallacies in Alaska is that everyone lives in the Bush and that the Bush is – by far – the most important part of Alaska. Using legislative districts as a guide and with a fair read, five out of forty districts make up rural Alaska, or about twenty percent of the state. This is really a case of the tail wagging the dog. Generally speaking, more Alaskans live west of the Seward highway in Anchorage than in all of rural Alaska. If as much money as has been spent in rural Alaska was put into the area west of the Seward Highway in Anchortown, it would look like Montecito, California.
“……… it is ungodly expensive to live here in the Bush………”
Gee,. no kidding? That’s one of the primary reasons few live out there. And if many did, Bush dwellers would be exceedingly unhappy about that, too.
Now I wonder if folks need an explanation on why it’s expensive to live on the bottom of the ocean or the far side of the moon and why folks elect to pass on that?
As I understand it, most if not all of the Native Corps have come out in support of Dan Sullivan because he actually does work for them, as well as every other Alaskan. I’m not at all sure why Mary thinks pandering to the Natives is going to help her cause.
She has plenty to run from and nothing to run for. Her record in the house is horrible, local government not much better, she brought zero to the table, that’s why we gave her the boot so quickly. She was just a Dem vote and her time in the house, she and the Biden regime did a great deal of damage to the state. Senator Dan Sullivan has brought and done more for the state than both Peltola and the Moo combined.
“Pelosi’s handmaiden”…can’t un-see that …un-fortunately.
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While we’re on a roll, may we ask why a Democrat would care about “ammo”, except how to serialize it, confiscate it, or otherwise obstruct the intent of the Second Amendment?
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Thousands of voters gonna swarm out of the Bush just to cast their vote for Mary?
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Okay, they swarmed out of the Bush to vote for Cornell West, but that was different, no?
(https://mustreadalaska.com/hotbed-of-socialism-in-kipnuk-the-village-voters-who-went-wild-for-cornel-west/)
Sorry about the unsee.
Could be that she is worried about ammo for the 176 rifles Buzzy “acquired” while in federal employ. The weapons aren’t much use unless you have something to send down range. Cheers –
https://mustreadalaska.com/how-did-rep-mary-peltola-end-up-with-176-long-guns-some-questions-the-legacy-media-wont-ask/
Mary Peltola was nothing more than a rubber stamp for a corrupt and crooked old man named Joe Biden. She only made it to about 1/2 of her floor votes, and she avoided the cameras and reporters who asked tough questions. She’s a non-stop husband hunter and DC party girl. A terrible representative for Alaska.
The Little Squaw.ker is going nowhere but back to Bethel. Be assured.
Hard to find a good Native man? Has she tried?
Mary lives in the Anchorage hillside.
All this election is about is a demonstration of how weak the Democrats in Alaska are for a viable candidate. Decoy Dan is an obvious ploy to confuse voters. Slime bucket politics at its finest. The smartest man in Washington DC as stated by Petola, Joe Biden would be proud of her, if he could think.
Mary offers Alaska – Alaskans nothing of significance and/or meaningful value.
Just another useless blowhard air thief sucking up good air, just like Lisa!
Mary was a terrible state legislator as she poorly represented her district and rarely stood to help Alaskans as a whole. She did nothing significant for Alaskans while in DC for two years. Her voting attendance was horrible which demonstrates her attitude about personal responsibilities. Electing her to the Senate would be a disaster for Alaska. I support our existing Senator as he shows a real respect for all Alaskans not just those who live in rural Alaska.
Not for a second do I buy Mary’s story of the bush life and how hard it is to sustain. The “Subsistence” lifestyle doesn’t really exist anymore’
Subsistence certainly is not what it used to be. The reliance on heating fuel for heat instead of wood cutting, gathering the wood and burning it for heat in a wood stove is not “living off of the land. Using gasoline powered outboard engines for boats, 4 wheelers, and pickup trucks sure is not really “subsisting” like using dog teams or just walking to hunt for game, or fish, gather/haul wood or pick berries. Flying to Fairbanks or Anchorage to shop at Costco and sending a small plane load of groceries back home to a bush village is not “subsistence” living. Watching a large flat screen TV or using your computer at night in the darkness of winter with your electric lights blazing all made possible using diesel fuel flown in by a large cargo plane to run a generator for the whole village is not really “subsistence.”