THE ALASKA STORY
Oct. 15, 2026 – In an extraordinary break with the party that backed his 2020 Senate campaign, Al Gross is urging Alaskans to reject Mary Peltola and rank both Dan Sullivans on November’s ballot.
Gross, the surgeon and independent candidate from Petersburg who unsuccessfully challenged Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan six years ago, made his case in an Anchorage Daily News opinion column published Thursday, titled “Why I’m crossing the aisle for either Dan Sullivan.”
“Alaska needs a Dan Sullivan in the United States Senate,” Gross wrote. “And before you ask, yes, I’m aware there are two of them on the ballot.”
The endorsement is striking given Gross’s political history. Although he ran as an independent in 2020, he had the Alaska Democratic Party’s endorsement and became its Senate nominee. Sullivan defeated him in the general election, before Alaska began using ranked-choice voting.
Now, the former challenger is praising Sullivan’s experience and influence while questioning whether Peltola can deliver for Alaska. His column reinforces what many Democrats are saying — Peltola has too much baggage.
Gross acknowledges Peltola’s historic election as the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and describes her as nice and kind. But he argues that a Senate election requires voters to weigh effectiveness, political power, and the ability to retain the seat.
“But a Senate race is not a ceremonial vote,” he wrote.
Gross points to Peltola’s 2024 defeat by Republican Nick Begich as a reason to question her candidacy. He also criticizes what he describes as her emphasis on appearances with then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland over responding to constituents.
“Alaska sent her to Washington to deliver, and Washington delivered her back to us,” Gross wrote.
His argument for the incumbent Sullivan centers on relationships built over nearly two Senate terms. Gross credits his former opponent’s work on the Armed Services Committee, Alaska military installations, Arctic infrastructure, national defense, and fishing communities.
He also offers an unusually favorable assessment of the Republican Party for someone who once carried Democratic hopes of flipping the seat.
“The Republican Party, despite all its national turbulence, clearly speaks more to Alaska’s core identity: resource development, personal liberty, resistance to federal overreach on our lands and our waters,” Gross wrote.
The column goes beyond endorsing the incumbent.
Gross pivots and speaks favorably of the Petersburg candidate named Dan Sullivan, whom the incumbent’s campaign has accused of entering the race to confuse voters.
Gross has his own Petersburg connection: His medical career included work there, as well as in Juneau.
In the column, he writes that he has met the Petersburg Sullivan, respects him, and knows his family. He praises the candidate’s leadership as a teacher and community member and describes him as a committed Republican.
In fact, the Petersburg Decoy Dan only became a Republican when he filed for office for the first time in his life.
Throughout the piece, Gross jokes about distinguishing the two candidates by their middle initials. But his voting recommendation is explicit: Rank both Sullivans rather than support Peltola.
Evidently she is that bad; even Decoy Dan is better, Gross argues.
Gross also calls for repealing ranked-choice voting, describing it as a political maneuver benefiting the minority party. He argues that Republicans risk electing a Democrat when they refuse to rank other Republican candidates.
“Ranked choice was a brilliant political trick by the minority party and should be repealed to restore fair elections,” he wrote.
For Alaska Democrats, the column delivers a remarkable reversal: Their 2020 Senate nominee is praising the Republican who defeated him, urging voters to rank another Sullivan as well, and arguing against sending Peltola back to Washington.
