Mary Peltola launches Senate campaign in Alaska, giving Democrats a boost

Former Representative Mary Peltola of Alaska, a Democrat, announced on Monday that she is running for the state’s Senate seat, a move the Times says gives Democrats a boost as they try to retake control of the chamber. Ms. Peltola was Alaska’s sole House member from 2022 until her defeat in 2024 and is one of the state’s few prominent Democrats.

She has been considered perhaps the only person who could pose a threat to Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican who is up for re‑election. In her announcement video Ms. Peltola positioned herself as a political outsider focused on state and local issues such as Alaska’s fishing industry and the rising cost of living, resurrecting the slogan “fish, family and freedom” and saying she would propose term limits for members of Congress.

She said, “It’s not just that politicians in D.C. don’t care that we’re paying $17 a gallon for milk in rural Alaska — they don’t even believe us.” She also praised two Alaska Republicans and used a tagline she attributed to President Trump about teaching “the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like.” Democrats, led by Senator Chuck Schumer, had heavily courted Ms.

Peltola as a top recruit and the party needs to flip four seats this fall to win a majority.

Key Topics

Politics, Mary Peltola, Alaska, U.s. Senate, Dan Sullivan, Chuck Schumer