Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, is campaigning to flip the state's U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Dan Sullivan. Her campaign has been clouded by recent staffer-allegation reports that her team attributes to intense personal grief after the 2023 deaths of her husband, Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr., and her mother. Polls and prediction markets show a close, competitive race—some surveys give Peltola a narrow lead while others show a tie or a small Sullivan advantage. The contest is a top pickup target for Democrats and could help determine control of the Senate after the midterms.
Mary Peltola Seeks To Flip Alaska Senate Seat Amid Personal Tragedy and Staff Allegations
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, participates in a ceremonial swearing-in of Representative Mary Peltola, an Alaska Democrat, as husband Gene Peltola looks on at the Capitol on September 13, 2022, in Washington, DC.
Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, is running to flip the state's U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Her campaign has attracted national attention not only for its potential political impact but also because Peltola has faced recent staffer-allegation reports while publicly grieving multiple family losses.
Allegations and Campaign Response
Earlier this week The New York Times reported allegations from former and current congressional staffers that Peltola used slurs toward employees and a constituent and, in one instance, shoved an aide. Her campaign rejected these claims and asked that they be viewed in context: campaign spokesperson Harry Child told Newsweek that Peltola "suddenly and tragically" lost both her mother and her husband within months in 2023 and was balancing full-time service in the U.S. House, parenting grieving children and a reelection effort while coping with grief. Newsweek contacted the campaign for further comment.
Buzzy Peltola: Lifetime Of Service
Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr. was a long-respected Alaskan figure whose career spanned wildlife management, tribal leadership and federal public service. Born in Bethel in February 1966, he was a member of the Orutsararmiut Native Council and began working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1980s, helping manage subsistence use on federal lands. He later served a term on the Bethel city council (2011) and was appointed in 2018 by then–Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as Regional Director for Alaska at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Peltola died in a small-plane crash on Sept. 12, 2023. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the rented aircraft was over its permitted weight. His passing prompted tributes from across Alaska and from leaders including President Joe Biden, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, speaks to reporters as he walks into the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on April 15 in Washington, DC.
Family And Community
Mary and Buzzy Peltola had three children together; she also has four stepchildren from prior marriages. Alaska's Division of Elections lists the family members as Conrad Kapsner, Van Kapsner, Job Nelson, Nora Nelson, Eugene Peltola III, Trevor Peltola and Kaeli Peltola. Peltola has described family ties in Western Alaska as a kind of social security, noting that extended and blended family structures are central to community resilience.
Polling, Markets And The Race Outlook
Peltola launched her U.S. Senate campaign after serving as Alaska's sole U.S. representative from 2022 through 2025. Polling shows a competitive contest. An AARP survey released Sept. 17 put Peltola ahead 46%–41% against Sullivan among 800 likely voters (Sept. 8–11; ±3.5%) and, after simulating Alaska's ranked-choice voting, showed her advantage widening to 53%–47%. RealClearPolitics' aggregate gave Peltola about 50.3% to Sullivan's 48% as of Friday afternoon, while some individual polls show tighter margins—co/efficient (Sept. 14–17) showed Sullivan up 48%–46% and Rasmussen (Sept. 15) described the race as essentially tied at 39% each.
Prediction markets have been more favorable to Peltola: Kalshi assigned roughly a 74% chance of a November win and Polymarket about 73% as of the most recent reporting. These markets often move faster than polls but reflect traders' sentiment rather than voter intention alone.
Why This Race Matters
The Alaska Senate contest is a key pickup opportunity for Democrats: no Democrat has held an Alaska Senate seat since 2008. Peltola's 2022 House victory demonstrated an ability to build a broad coalition—Native voters, organized labor, moderate Republicans and independents—which Democrats hope can translate into a Senate flip. Observers say the outcome will test Alaska's political identity: whether the state remains reliably Republican or is open to a more independent or left-leaning voice in Washington.
"Life is difficult here," Peltola writes on her campaign site, emphasizing mutual support among Alaskans and the need to address issues such as declining fish stocks and rising costs of living.
News organizations continue to report on both the campaign dynamics and the staffer allegations; the story remains evolving as more statements, investigative details and polling data emerge.
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