Alaska Showdown: Peltola Aims to Overturn Sullivan’s Senate Stronghold

Paul Riverbank, 1/13/2026Mary Peltola shakes up Alaska Senate race, challenging Sullivan amid high stakes and quirky politics.

Her campaign launch video doesn’t pull any punches. Peltola paints a portrait of Alaska blinking under the twin pressures of rising prices and eroding traditions. “Growing up, Alaska was abundant,” she says, evoking those days when freezer chests brimmed with fish and game. “Now, we face scarcity.” She lingers on the fact that wild salmon and caribou are harder to find, and pivots to the cost at the checkout counter—groceries that land with “crushing prices” on the average family. There’s a frustration in her voice, a sense that too many in Washington haven’t noticed, or don’t care, what it means to scrape by in the North.

But this isn’t just about one Senate seat, or even one party. Peltola is plainly irritated at systems she calls “rigged” against Alaska, taking jabs at lawmakers more absorbed with stock tickers than with daily realities on the ground. In a deft touch, she nods to Alaska’s old guard, mentioning Don Young and Ted Stevens—two Republican giants. Rather than drawing sharp partisan lines, she casts them as examples of how Alaskans used to pull together and fight for their own, regardless of party banner. “To hell with politics, put Alaska first,” Stevens once said—a line Peltola repeats, perhaps hoping it will echo far beyond her campaign.

Alaska can be a tough nut for Democrats to crack. For generations, the GOP has dug deep into both Anchorage and the bush. Sullivan, wrapping up his second term, has championed resource extraction and large-scale energy projects—bread-and-butter issues for many local voters. Yet it would be a mistake to underestimate Alaska’s quirky independent streak. The electorate here isn’t especially doctrinaire, and voters have crossed party lines for candidates with the right blend of persistence, moderation, and authenticity. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a recurring example, weathering storms from her right flank; even Peltola, Alaska’s first Native Congresswoman, has bucked her own party on oil development.

A footnote, perhaps, but an important one: ranked-choice voting is in play for this election, too. The system helped propel Peltola to victory two years ago and will shape the Senate race, no matter how tensions run around the pending repeal measure. Alaska’s voters will keep ranking their picks, a setup that rewards broad appeal more than strict partisanship. And as anyone who spent time on the ground in 2022 can testify, it brings suspense—sometimes right down to the last ballot drop.

This Senate race is drawing attention, not just from regulars at the Fairbanks coffee shops or among salmon fishermen in Bristol Bay, but from party operatives in Washington as well. Democratic leaders, seeing the math in a closely divided Senate, encouraged Peltola’s move. Whether she can make real headway against Sullivan is a question, but the simple fact she’s running has energized the Democratic faithful in a state where good news from national headquarters has long been scarce.

The battle lines are set around the familiar terrain: the cost of living, jobs, resource management—what future Alaskans can realistically count on. Sullivan leans on his record delivering federal support and defending Alaska’s economic lifeblood. Peltola, meanwhile, is angling for a sense of inclusion and change, insisting Alaska’s voice deserves more respect from both parties.

The coming campaign promises plenty of noise—there are ongoing debates over how Alaskans cast their ballots, rumors swirling about gubernatorial ambitions, and whispers about which way the winds are blowing in the national Senate balance. But one thing seems certain: with Peltola in the ring, Alaska’s election season won’t slip quietly by this year. In a place where wild stories are part of the territory, this contest will be watched with rapt attention far beyond the boundaries of the state.

Mary Peltola is stepping back into the political spotlight in Alaska, this time with her sights on the U.S. Senate. Few outside observers would have predicted it a couple of years ago, yet here she is, launching a challenge to incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. Peltola has never been a stranger to uphill fights. She snagged Alaska’s only House seat in 2022—an upset fueled in no small part by the state’s experiment with ranked-choice voting, which threw national political forecasters off their usual calculations. She clung to that seat for two years before Nick Begich III, a Republican with a familiar last name in Alaskan politics, wrested it back this past cycle. Now, rather than retreating, Peltola is aiming even higher.Her campaign launch video doesn’t pull any punches. Peltola paints a portrait of Alaska blinking under the twin pressures of rising prices and eroding traditions. “Growing up, Alaska was abundant,” she says, evoking those days when freezer chests brimmed with fish and game. “Now, we face scarcity.” She lingers on the fact that wild salmon and caribou are harder to find, and pivots to the cost at the checkout counter—groceries that land with “crushing prices” on the average family. There’s a frustration in her voice, a sense that too many in Washington haven’t noticed, or don’t care, what it means to scrape by in the North.But this isn’t just about one Senate seat, or even one party. Peltola is plainly irritated at systems she calls “rigged” against Alaska, taking jabs at lawmakers more absorbed with stock tickers than with daily realities on the ground. In a deft touch, she nods to Alaska’s old guard, mentioning Don Young and Ted Stevens—two Republican giants. Rather than drawing sharp partisan lines, she casts them as examples of how Alaskans used to pull together and fight for their own, regardless of party banner. “To hell with politics, put Alaska first,” Stevens once said—a line Peltola repeats, perhaps hoping it will echo far beyond her campaign.Alaska can be a tough nut for Democrats to crack. For generations, the GOP has dug deep into both Anchorage and the bush. Sullivan, wrapping up his second term, has championed resource extraction and large-scale energy projects—bread-and-butter issues for many local voters. Yet it would be a mistake to underestimate Alaska’s quirky independent streak. The electorate here isn’t especially doctrinaire, and voters have crossed party lines for candidates with the right blend of persistence, moderation, and authenticity. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a recurring example, weathering storms from her right flank; even Peltola, Alaska’s first Native Congresswoman, has bucked her own party on oil development.A footnote, perhaps, but an important one: ranked-choice voting is in play for this election, too. The system helped propel Peltola to victory two years ago and will shape the Senate race, no matter how tensions run around the pending repeal measure. Alaska’s voters will keep ranking their picks, a setup that rewards broad appeal more than strict partisanship. And as anyone who spent time on the ground in 2022 can testify, it brings suspense—sometimes right down to the last ballot drop.This Senate race is drawing attention, not just from regulars at the Fairbanks coffee shops or among salmon fishermen in Bristol Bay, but from party operatives in Washington as well. Democratic leaders, seeing the math in a closely divided Senate, encouraged Peltola’s move. Whether she can make real headway against Sullivan is a question, but the simple fact she’s running has energized the Democratic faithful in a state where good news from national headquarters has long been scarce.The battle lines are set around the familiar terrain: the cost of living, jobs, resource management—what future Alaskans can realistically count on. Sullivan leans on his record delivering federal support and defending Alaska’s economic lifeblood. Peltola, meanwhile, is angling for a sense of inclusion and change, insisting Alaska’s voice deserves more respect from both parties.The coming campaign promises plenty of noise—there are ongoing debates over how Alaskans cast their ballots, rumors swirling about gubernatorial ambitions, and whispers about which way the winds are blowing in the national Senate balance. But one thing seems certain: with Peltola in the ring, Alaska’s election season won’t slip quietly by this year. In a place where wild stories are part of the territory, this contest will be watched with rapt attention far beyond the boundaries of the state.