She secured nearly 50% of the votes in Alaska’s August 2026 primary. Mary Sattler Peltola is making headlines as she challenges Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan for Alaska’s US Senate seat. A retired teacher, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is also running for the seat as a Republican. A member of the Democratic party, Peltola’s campaign focuses on lowering living costs, protecting fisheries and making housing more affordable. The race has garnered nationwide attention as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance recently traveled there to hold a rally in support of incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Her ads also criticized Sullivan for voting against an amendment that sought to release the Epstein files. He alleged that Peltola herself had accepted contributions from figures linked to the Epstein case. She denied these allegations and no formal investigation took place.
In September 2026, several staff members that worked under Peltola alleged that she had shouted at aides, used offensive slurs regarding LGBTQ+ and physically pushed an aide while working in the Congress. Peltola’s campaign rejected the allegations, arguing that the report exaggerated incidents from a difficult period in her life after the deaths of her mother and husband in 2023. In August 2026, Peltola and Senator Dan Sullivan clashed over political links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Peltola’s campaign ran ads accusing Sullivan of accepting $10,000 from associates linked to the Epstein case.
The report, based on interviews with former employees and text messages, also described a message in which she allegedly expressed a wish for a Planned Parenthood board member to die due to a disagreement over an endorsement.
Sullivan strongly denied these claims, calling them a “smear” campaign, and pointing that he voted for the final bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Peltola has also advocated for oil and gas development in Alaska, including the Willow project and has called for faster government approvals for energy projects. Her energy plan also includes improving electricity access in rural communities, along with restoring federal tax credits for wind, solar and hydropower projects. She also called for providing assistance to low income families and a greater investment in geothermal energy. Moreover, a key part of Peltola’s campaign is creating well paying jobs and making life more affordable for Alaskans. She has backed oil and gas development, arguing that investment in Alaska’s natural resources can create jobs and support local communities. She also criticized tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, arguing that they’ve led to a hike in prices and have hurt local industries. For her current Senate campaign, she highlights the protection of Alaskan industries and lowering shipping costs. In addition to that, Peltola has called for government regulation of artificial intelligence , raising concerns about its impact on jobs and energy costs. She also stressed upon the need to consider how AI could affect workers as the technology becomes more widespread. She alleged that Sullivan benefits financially through these projects.
Mary Peltola began her political career in 1999 when she was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. She served there for a decade and later joined the Bethel City Council from 2011 to 2013. In 2017, she became executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. In 2022, she won a special election to the US House of Representatives , succeeding Congressman Don Young. She became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress and served until 2025. She lost re-election to Republican Nick Begich and left Congress in January 2025. During an October 2026 Senate debate, she argued that tech companies running data centres should pay for their own energy bills instead of passing the costs to regular consumers. In an October 2026 post on her Substack, she criticised Republican Senator Dan Sullivan for encouraging technology companies to build data centres in Alaska.
Because it depends heavily on overseas markets, alaska’s seafood sector is highly affected.
Mary Peltola has opposed the US war with Iran and urged that Congress needs to step in and put a limit on the conflict. During her Senate campaign, she has criticised Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan for supporting the war, arguing that it has contributed to rising fuel and energy costs for Alaskans. She urged Congress to keep a much closer eye on the Trump administration’s military choices.
In May 2026, she stated that she is willing to vote for a law that can restrict the President’s military actions.
