Mary Peltola seeks to be first Alaska Native woman in Senate - ICT
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Former U.S. representative, Yup’ik, will challenge sitting Republican Dan Sullivan for the hotly contested seat that Democrats are hoping could help them retake control of the Senate

Kevin Abourezk
ICT

Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola could make history again. The Yup’ik woman announced Monday her plans to seek a U.S. Senate seat in her home state of Alaska.

This move, if she wins, could make her the first Alaska Native woman in the U.S. Senate.

Along with Peltola, if Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wins her U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, both would make history as the first Native women in the U.S. Senate. Native men have only held those positions so far, including Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Cherokee and Republican, and the late Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne.

Technically, Flanagan, White Earth, could be the first since Minnesota is three hours ahead and Alaska’s ranked-choice voting would take some time. Regardless, there would be a similar situation to Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, Ho-Chunk, and former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, being elected as the first Native women in the U.S. House in 2018.

Peltola said she decided to run in part to confront the failure of federal lawmakers to address rising food prices that have impacted her state more than others.

“Growing up, Alaska was a place of abundance,” Peltola, Democrat, said in an Instagram post that featured photos of her fishing with her family. “Now we have scarcity. The salmon, large game and migratory birds that used to fill our freezers are harder to find so we buy more groceries with crushing prices.”

She said politicians don’t believe rural Alaskans when they express concern about paying $17 a gallon for milk.

“They’re more focused on their stock portfolios than our bank accounts,” she said. “When they actually work together on something, it’s usually to help themselves.”

Peltola will face Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking reelection. He is currently in his second term.

Alaska’s non-partisan, ranked-choice primary is scheduled for Aug. 18. Polls show her nearly even with Sullivan, and the Democratic Party has begun eyeing the seat as a step toward retaking control of the Senate.

In Alaska, Native people are a key demographic, making up 17 percent of the state’s 740,000 population. The state is home to approximately 40 percent of Indian Country — 229 of the 575 federally recognized tribes across the country.

Peltola served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, the Bethel City Council from 2011-2013, and then as a tribal court judge and executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

She won a special election in 2022 to succeed Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died in office, and later that year won election to a full term. It made her the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. She served on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Her moderate views earned her endorsements from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and the National Rifle Association.

She was defeated in her 2024 re-election bid by Republican Nick Begich, and left office in January 2025.

Peltola criticized Alaska’s current all-Republican congressional delegation for failing to challenge its own party on issues like public media and disaster relief. Her campaign priorities, she said, include saving fisheries, lowering energy prices, building affordable housing and seeking term limits for U.S. senators.

“No one from the lower 48 is coming to save us, but I know this in my bones – there’s no group of people more ready to save ourselves than Alaskans,” she said

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