Kochanowski: Why get off the couch and vote this year

By GIVEY KOCHANOWSKI 

Oct. 8, 2026 – Alaska stands as the national fulcrum in the fight for control of the US Senate and House. Outside opposition, dark money and the extreme fringes of the opposition party are waging a relentless campaign to flip our delegation. We cannot let them.

Since its purchase from Russia, Alaska’s fate has been tied to Washington, DC. From building the Alaska Railroad to expelling Japanese invaders in World War II, securing Cold War defense investments, and authorizing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, every major milestone required congressional action.

Yet federal overreach has just as often held us back in other areas. Inadequate investment leaves our infrastructure lagging, our economy constrained, and basic government functions underserved compared to the Lower 48. Outside politicians continue to wage war on our state’s right to develop like all other states enjoyed.

The ongoing reality that Alaska largely remains a colonial, mercantile economy with extremely few value-added products is further complicated by federal management of 62% of our total land. For decades, our survival has depended on sending powerful, effective leaders to Congress. That makes this election one of the most consequential in a generation. The contrast on the ballot could not be starker.

The Power of Seniority and Teamwork

Congressional representation for a small-population state is a high-stakes team sport. Strategically, our delegation seeks committee seats with maximum leverage over our economy. Sen. Lisa Murkowski commands top positions on Energy and Natural Resources, Appropriations, HELP, and Indian Affairs. Senator Dan Sullivan serves as her vital strategic counterweight on Armed Services, Commerce, Environment and Public Works, and Veterans’ Affairs.

As a retired Marine colonel who genuinely understands military issues, structures, and gaps, Senator Sullivan has channeled that knowledge directly into Alaska’s economy. Together, our delegation secured over $1 billion for rural healthcare, $1.5 billion to upgrade Clear Space Force Station, funding to bed down two F-35 squadrons, and $7 billion for Fighter Town at JBER.

Congressman Nick Begich hit the ground running with that same work ethic, replacing a predecessor who accomplished nothing positive and often doubled down with her anti-Alaska colleagues in D.C. against our state. We deserve real results when we entrust our elected officials with our votes. Small states cannot afford to reset the seniority clock every two years.

Holding the Strategic High Ground

Brigadier General Billy Mitchell famously declared 125 years ago:

“I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world… I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.”

That statement is truer now more than ever.

Standing on the shoulders of Senator Ted Stevens, Dan Sullivan has been a tireless advocate for national security. It is no accident that Alaska hosts our nation’s most advanced weapons platforms: nearly 100 fifth-generation fighters, an entire Army division, upgraded radar at Clear, and critical missile defense assets modernizing at Fort Greely.

Sen. Dan Sullivan drove these and many more essential defense investments for our state. Few Alaskans realize that the federal government is our state’s largest employer, with a workforce four times larger than the entire oil and gas sector.

The attack line calling Dan Sullivan “Ohio Dan” is the single most absurd argument. By that logic, Alaskans would have rejected “Indiana Ted” Stevens or “California Don” Young. Nearly 60% of current Alaskans were born outside the state. I will take effective, proven legislators born elsewhere over Anchorage-born Mary Peltola, who accomplished virtually nothing during her failed experimental term in Congress.

Having worked with Senator Sullivan and Congressman Begich before they entered federal office, I know them to be genuine leaders of high integrity who know how to collaborate across the state and nation to advance our most pressing needs. Over my 28-year federal career across five agencies, I frequently interacted with the delegation and their staffs as an operational partner. Responsible Alaskans across the political spectrum share a common history and record of getting things done.

The Choice Between Results and Empty Rhetoric

During my tenure in federal leadership leading three regional agencies in Alaska, I maintained positive relationships with representatives across the political spectrum, including former Democratic Senator Mark Begich. A passion for advancing Alaska is not exclusive to any single political party, but the elected members need to have a work ethic and see the broader benefit of bills on Alaska.

Two weeks before his passing, I had a personal sidebar with Congressman Don Young at the Dena’ina Center. He was fully aware of the challenges I was facing at the Department of Energy after a sham backroom deal appointed an out-of-touch, woke UAF ACEP professor to lead my program despite living in Seattle, a classic example of the carpetbaggers who know nothing about our state, yet try to assert their will on Alaska. In his trademark, candid style, Congressman Young immediately offered help and walked me through his plan to permanently fix the issue. It worked well. We need more partnership like that.

Across my career, I had significant partnership with the Alaska Native community primarily through the Federal Tribal Trust Responsibility. I find it interesting how Mary Peltola thinks the Native voters owe her their vote because she is Native. I prefer accomplishment politics over identity politics. I am happy to see so many Native leaders and regional corporations endorsing our proven workhorses who command respect and results in D.C.

Contrast Peltola’s lack of accomplishment to Congressman Nick Begich, who set the all-time freshman record with the most bills passed in the House.

Then there is the issue of character. It was no surprise to read the September 23, 2026, New York Times report detailing allegations regarding Mary Peltola’s inexcusable behavior, abuse of staff, and volatile temper. Her apologists offer excuses, citing the tragic loss of her husband. Buzzy was a good man and a strong federal senior leader counterpart to me; his untimely death certainly warranted time to grieve. However, grief is not a license to be unprofessional, rude, or sling slurs at others as a sitting member of Congress. I have never heard Senator Sullivan or Congressman Begich speak so derogatorily to anyone. Character matters.

Actions Speak Louder Than Campaign Slogans

I find Mary Peltola’s contortions of the truth entirely contrary to reality. Her slogans of “Fish, Family, Freedom” mean nothing beyond empty platitudes without actionable plans. She loves to attack Senator Sullivan on fisheries issues, despite his authoring and co-sponsoring dozens of bills addressing the complex ecosystem of Alaska’s seafood industry in the state containing the nation’s largest fishing port. She had ample opportunity to address these issues as an elected member of Congress, yet did nothing.

What Mary Peltola did find time to do was vote to deny a pay raise to our service members, even with her own children serving in the Coast Guard. It is insulting to hear her campaign ads touting her support for the military. When it actually mattered, a chance to prove that assertion, she caved to her D.C. masters and voted against my brothers in arms and all other active-duty members. Even if she changed her votes in subsequent rounds, the simple fact that she initially threw our nation’s defenders under the bus without batting an eye is extremely concerning.

Worse still, she voted against the sacred trust between our nation and its veterans. Our state is home to the highest per capita veteran population in the country; tens of thousands of veterans, including myself, rely on the VA. We entered service with a clean bill of health and, through training, deployments, burn pits, and operations, sustained physical and mental injuries while giving our nation the best years of our youth. Mary Peltola callously voted against all of us. That alone should be reason enough for any Alaskan not to send her back to D.C. to do more harm to our state, service members, and veterans.

Adding insult to injury, she returned home on an apology tour claiming she could not vote for those bills because they contained “poison pills.” While she has a long record as an ineffective leader, she is not stupid. Did she honestly expect clean, unamended bills in a body of 435 members? Nearly every major congressional bill functions as a Christmas tree hung with riders. Her inability to prioritize vital veteran care or well-earned pay raises over party orthodoxy demonstrates that her allegiance lies with D.C. party leadership rather than the immediate needs of Alaskans. She attempted to rationalize her votes by claiming Republicans included provisions to halt left-wing social engineering, exposing her fundamental misunderstanding of how to fight for Alaska in Congress and the half-century-old Hyde Amendment framework.

A Failure of Basic Representation

Prior to Mary Peltola entering federal politics, I enjoyed a proactive, productive and collaborative relationship with the delegation in my senior federal leadership roles. Once Mary Peltola was elected, the shift was immediate. Across her entire tenure in Congress, she never once met with me, neither through formal Congressional Affairs channels nor through traditional Alaskan outreach. Her staff repeatedly rebuffed my office and our agency’s work as well.

It is profoundly hypocritical to watch her campaign ads addressing high energy costs when, as our sole House representative, she refused to ever meet with the federal agency actively working to lower those costs for Alaskans. Her lack of work ethic, failure to remember who she serves, and total absence of intellectual curiosity were staggering.

During her lackluster term in Congress, I was promoted and transferred to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as regional director, advancing energy and mineral development in the federal waters surrounding Alaska, approximately 1.3 billion acres, a jurisdiction 3.7 times larger than the landmass of our state. Again in this role, Mary Peltola and her staff refused to meet with me even once. Our senators met with me eagerly and regularly throughout that same period. This was not a systemic breakdown; it was a direct reflection of Mary Peltola’s priorities and her lack of understanding of how to partner with and support senior federal leaders in Alaska who genuinely care about our state and delivering results.

Mary Peltola works for the highest bidder: her party bosses and limited supporters with her identity politics. The prime example of her lack of genuine representation for Alaska comes when consequential votes hit the floor. I find being a spineless waffler a major failure of representation. Despite co-sponsoring H.R. 6285, the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, she was the only member of the House to vote “present.”

That is not leadership or good representation; it’s playing politics with the state’s economy. I would have far more respect for Mary Peltola had she voted honestly and on the record against that bill than taking the coward’s way out and giving away Alaska’s one congressional vote on such an important bill.

How someone treats children and animals speaks volumes about their character. With approval from the Under Secretary of Energy, I once brought my older son on an official trip to DC. During our downtime, my son arranged office visits with Senators Murkowski and Sullivan. Sen. Murkowski personally invited him to apply as a Senate page, a role he fulfilled a few years later, while Sen. Sullivan invited his chief of staff and state director to join his meeting.

Mary Peltola refused to meet with my son or even assign a staffer to say hello, offering the weak excuse that she only hosted a single brief weekly group coffee for visiting Alaskans. Congressman Young was likely rolling in his grave at such blatant disrespect toward Alaskans, especially a young student. Don always made time for Alaskans in D.C., above all for our youth.

Get Off the Couch and Vote

Do not take my word alone. Do your own research and speak with people who have lived experience working to advance our state where Mary Peltola stood silent or often voted against critical Alaskan priorities. My experience is not unique; many of my federal peers and friends in industry encountered the exact same wall. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Alaska has seen the real Mary Peltola. The prospect of elevating her to a six-year Senate term after such a dismal record in the House is baffling. If she returns to Washington, we know what to expect, and the risks are even greater if extreme left-wing factions control Congress. I, for one, do not want Mamdani ideology and rising socialism being forced on our state with the breadth of out-of-touch policies and positions Mary Peltola espouses. I submit that our state and its future are worth getting off the couch and voting.

Early voting runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2 at the Midtown Mall or City Hall in Anchorage, and at all local polling places on Election Day, Nov. 3. For official election information and local resources, visit elections.alaska.gov.

Givey Kochanowski is the founder and principal of the Wolfpack Consulting Group. He retired from federal service as a member of the Senior Executive Service following 28 years of combined military and civil service leadership. He currently serves his third appointment by Gov. Mike Dunleavy as a commissioner on the Alaska Historical Commission and the Alaska Veterans Advisory Council. A lifetime member of the VFW and the Air Force Association, he remains actively engaged in national security and veterans’ issues across Alaska. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and holds a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.