Democrat hopes of scoring a big win and turning an Alaska Senate seat blue took a big hit, with Senator Lisa Murkowski finally doing something pro-GOP and siding with President Donald Trump to back Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, closing ranks just days after Democrat Mary Peltola entered the race in an attempt to turn part of Alaska blue.
As background, Peltola is a former member of Congress who served one partial term and one full term in the United States House of Representatives before losing her seat in a very close race in 2024. She was the first Alaskan Native to be elected to Congress when she entered office, a credential she has tried using to her advantage.
Announcing her candidacy in the Senate race on X in a post on Monday, January 12, she wrote, “My name is Mary Peltola, and I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for fish, family, and freedom – and that begins with fixing the rigged system in DC that’s shutting down Alaska. We need systemic change if we’re going to fill our homes with abundance again.”
In the video included in the tweet announcing her candidacy, Peltola said, “Systemic change is the only way to bring down grocery costs, save our fisheries, lower energy prices and build new housing Alaskans can afford.” She added, “No one from the Lower 48 is coming to save us, but I know this in my bones: There is no group of people more ready to save ourselves than Alaskans.”
She is running against Sullivan in what looks like it will be a razor-thin electoral race in a state that has long been trending somewhat blue, and Murkowski stepping in to back Sullivan, who has long been endorsed and supported by Trump, could help push Sullivan over the victory line by rallying moderate voters behind him.
Endorsing Sullivan and pointing to his solid record in recent years as justification for doing so, Murkowski told Alaska Public Media, “We’ve had a pretty solid team here in the Senate for the past 12 years, so we want to figure out how we’re going to keep in the majority.” She added, “And Dan delivers that.”
That was a somewhat unexpected, and quite welcome, endorsement, as Murkowski had previously told Alaskan media that she is friends with and respects Peltola, so the former congresswoman’s decision to run in the race would make it difficult for her to decide who to support in the critical midterm election campaign.
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But, still, the longtime RINO ended up doing the right thing for the party and country, something of a rarity for her, deciding to back Sullivan instead. Commenting on the matter on Monday, she said, “I wish Mary well, she is my long-time friend.” She added, “That said, I have worked closely and effectively with Senator Sullivan for the past 12 years, and I strongly believe that a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate is in Alaska’s best interests. I will be supporting Dan’s re-election – just as I did in 2014 and 2020.”
Watch Peltola’s announcement video here: