With endorsements like this, who needs enemies? Kamala burdens Mary Peltola with what has been

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Aug. 13, 2026 – Kamala Harris endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola for US Senate on Thursday, giving Peltola the backing of a former vice president who lost Alaska by more than 44,000 votes just two years ago.

It may be one of those endorsements Republicans are happier to see than the candidate being endorsed.

Harris received 140,026 votes in Alaska in the 2024 presidential election, or 41.41% of the vote. President Donald Trump received 184,458 votes, or 54.54%, winning the state by 13 percentage points and collecting all three of its electoral votes.

Now Harris is asking those same Alaska voters to send Peltola to Washington.

“Mary Peltola is an ineffective radical leftist who worked hand in hand with Kamala Harris to put Alaska last, so it’s no surprise that Harris is backing Peltola,” said NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia.

The endorsement also revives Peltola’s uncomfortable relationship with the deeply unpopular Biden-Harris administration.

Peltola’s record puts her in step with Democrats’ most radical 2026 candidates

President Joe Biden and Harris presided over a sweeping federal clampdown on Alaska resource development. Their administration canceled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, restricted development across millions of acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and rejected the Ambler mining road.

A federal judge later ruled that the Biden administration had acted improperly when it canceled the ANWR leases held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. The administration did finally approve ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, but only after an intense campaign by Alaska’s congressional delegation, state leaders, Alaska Native organizations and labor groups.

Peltola publicly objected to the cancellation of the ANWR leases and restrictions in the petroleum reserve. But when congressional Republicans brought forward the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act in 2024, intended to reverse Biden’s restrictions and protect future development, Peltola declined to vote for it and instead voted “present,” saying the legislation placed energy development in conflict with fisheries.

That record gave Republicans ample material to argue that Peltola’s carefully cultivated image as an independent-minded Alaska Democrat did not always survive contact with the Democratic administration’s agenda.

Peltola calls Working Families Tax Cut law ‘damaging’ despite record rural health, Coast Guard investments for Alaska

Peltola was also one of Biden’s most memorable defenders as questions mounted about his ability to continue serving as president.

“I think that Joe Biden’s mental acuity is very, very on,” Peltola said. “He’s one of the smartest, sharpest people I’ve ever met in DC.”

The comment became difficult to defend after Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate performance forced Democrats to remove him from the presidential race and replace him with Harris.

Peltola then attempted to keep Harris at arm’s length. She declined to endorse Harris in 2024, although she said she supported her “as a human being.” That caution was due to the realities of a state Harris was destined to lose decisively.

Two years later, Harris is returning the favor with an endorsement Peltola did not give her.

Harris brings plenty of political baggage of her own. Her “coconut tree” story, repeated declarations about being “unburdened by what has been,” enthusiasm for Venn diagrams, fascination with yellow school buses and circular speaking style made her a permanent fixture of internet memes.

Her attempt to explain the Russian invasion of Ukraine — “Ukraine is a country in Europe” and Russia is “a bigger country” — was mocked as an elementary-school description of a major international conflict. Her response to questions about visiting the southern border was equally memorable: “And I haven’t been to Europe.”

Alaska voters rendered their judgment at the ballot box.

Peltola is trying to defeat Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by presenting herself as an Alaska-first candidate who is willing to cross party lines. An endorsement from one of the most recognizable figures in the national Democratic Party undercuts that message by reminding voters exactly which political team is investing in her return to Washington.

An endorsement from a presidential candidate who received only 41% of Alaska’s vote and served in an administration remembered for locking up Alaska lands is a curious gift in a statewide race. Especially considering that New York’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also given Peltola a similarly controversial endorsement.

With endorsements like this, who needs enemies?

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