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Mary Peltola Poised to Challenge Sen. Dan Sullivan, Putting Alaska Senate Seat in Play

Analysts say Alaska’s ranked-choice system could make the race competitive given her prior statewide wins.

Overview

  • Axios reports Peltola is in the early stages of a Senate bid with a formal announcement expected later in January.
  • The NRSC has already placed Alaska on its battleground map as Schumer-aligned groups spent roughly $1.5 million last year to soften Sullivan.
  • Nate Silver says her candidacy would shift Democrats’ chances from long shot to plausible, though it would remain an uphill contest.
  • Peltola won two 2022 House races under ranked-choice voting and then lost her 2024 reelection to Republican Nick Begich by just over two points.
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a longtime friend who previously backed Peltola, called a Peltola–Sullivan race “very, very, very hard” for Alaskans.