ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Diya TV) — Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola announced Monday that she is running for the U.S. Senate in Alaska, giving Democrats a rare shot at competing in a state that has long leaned Republican. Her entry lifts Democratic hopes as the party faces a difficult path to regaining control of the Senate in the midterm elections.
Peltola, a Democrat and the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, will challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking re-election. Democrats need to flip four Senate seats nationwide to win a majority, and party leaders see Alaska as a tough but possible pickup.
Peltola served as Alaska’s sole House member from 2022 until her narrow defeat in 2024. She remains one of the most recognizable Democrats in the state. Party officials have long viewed her as their strongest potential Senate candidate. In a video announcing her campaign, Peltola cast herself as a political outsider focused on Alaska-specific issues. She highlighted the high cost of living, especially in rural communities, and spoke about protecting the state’s fishing industry. She revived a slogan from her House campaigns: “fish, family, and freedom.”
“It’s not just that politicians in D.C. don’t care,” Peltola said. “They don’t even believe us when we talk about how expensive life is in rural Alaska.”
She also called for term limits for members of Congress, a message aimed at voters frustrated with Washington.
Peltola’s decision completes the Senate recruitment map for Democrats. Party leaders have already landed high-profile candidates in states such as Ohio and North Carolina. Still, the overall landscape remains challenging.
Democrats must defend vulnerable seats in Michigan and Georgia. At the same time, they need to flip Republican-held seats, some in states won by President Donald Trump in 2024. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and other top Democrats strongly encouraged Peltola to run. They believe her statewide popularity and moderate image could make Alaska competitive.
Republicans quickly attacked Peltola’s announcement. Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, a major Republican super PAC, dismissed her as a “defeated career politician-turned-lobbyist.”
He said voters already rejected her in 2024 and would do so again. Sullivan, a two-term senator, has not yet launched his re-election campaign in earnest. He benefits from Alaska’s conservative tilt, which makes any Democratic challenger an underdog.
Despite its Republican lean, Alaska has a history of supporting independent-minded candidates. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress, has won re-election several times by appealing to voters across party lines.
Murkowski endorsed Peltola during her House campaigns in 2022 and 2024. This time, Murkowski said she will back Sullivan. She told Alaska Public Media that the current Senate team has delivered results for the state.
Still, Peltola praised Murkowski and other Alaska Republicans in her kickoff video. She even echoed a phrase often used by Trump, saying voters should show the nation what “Alaska First” looks like.
Peltola first won national attention in 2022 when she defeated former Gov. Sarah Palin in a special election. That victory flipped Alaska’s House seat to Democrats for the first time in decades. She later won a full term under the state’s ranked-choice voting system.
In 2024, Republican Nick Begich III defeated Peltola by about two percentage points in a rematch. After leaving Congress, Peltola joined a law and lobbying firm that works on energy and mining issues, a move Republicans now highlight.
Alaska uses a nonpartisan primary system in which the top four candidates advance to the general election. Peltola is expected to easily make the general election ballot. She will likely face an uphill fight against Sullivan in November. Still, Democrats believe her appeal to rural voters, independents, and moderate Republicans gives her a chance.
