Well, one question a lot of Alaskans have been asking has been answered. That question was "Will Democrat ex-representative Mary Peltola run for governor in 2026?" The answer, as of this morning, is "No, because she's challenging Republican Dan Sullivan for his Senate seat."
Mary must like it in Washington. Here's her announcement:
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.
— Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) January 12, 2026
We need systemic change if we're going to fill our homes with abundance again. pic.twitter.com/pLnr4GLd9k
That's an interesting statement: A "rigged system in DC that's shutting down Alaska." The truth is that Alaska has been opened up as it never has been: Open to energy and mineral development, and open to economic development. Democrats can take little if any credit for any of this, and if Democrats come back into power in Washington, all of this will come to a screeching halt.
The announcement caps off months of speculation about her next move after she lost her House seat to Republican Nick Begich in 2024.
In an accompanying video on Monday, the Alaska Native knocked the “rigged system” in Washington, where she said many politicians are “more focused on their stock portfolios than our bank accounts” and that “when they actually work together on something, it’s usually to help themselves.”
She hailed prior lawmakers like the late Rep. Don Young (R) and the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R), who she said “ignored lower 48 partisanship” to fight for Alaska.
Mary Peltola was an obvious choice for Alaska Democrats, who are frequently fighting an uphill battle in Alaska; the Anchorage metro area leans Democratic, but it's offset by one of that state's few other major population centers, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The borough includes the towns of Wasilla and Palmer, which lean Republican.
Mrs. Peltola is one of the few possible Democratic candidates with any real name recognition across all of the Great Land. It was a safe bet that she would announce either for the Senate or for governor, both of which will be on this year's ballot. But in choosing to seek that Senate seat, she's challenging an incumbent. The governor's seat, thanks to Governor Dunleavy being term-limited out, is an open race. And Mary Peltola did win two statewide races, in ranked-choice voting elections, but she lost to Representative Nick Begich III (AK-AL) in 2024.
In 2022, Peltola flipped the red state’s at-large House district into Democratic control, becoming a rare member of her party to represent a state that went to Trump in both 2016 and 2020. But Republicans in 2024 coalesced behind Begich to help boost him to another flip as President Trump won Alaska by double digits.
Ranked-choice balloting, a catastrophically dumb idea, is on the ballot again for repeal this fall, but regardless of how that vote comes out this time, the 2026 general election will still take place under that system.
Read More: Alaska's Governor Dunleavy Speaks Out Against Ranked Choice Voting
Latest Polls: Could Mary Peltola Be Alaska's Next Governor? RCV May Tip Things Her Way.
Alaska isn't a hot spot for national pollsters, but what polling there is shows Senator Sullivan's approval ratings slipping. One survey by Alaska Survey Research has approvals not only of Senator Sullivan but also of Governor Dunleavy and Senator Murkowski slipping. A Public Policy Polling survey from last year shows Senator Sullivan's approvals sliding as well - but note that neither of those polls is terribly recent.
Democrats will no doubt see this as an opportunity, especially with ranked-choice voting still in place. And they aren't wrong to do so.
Alaskans, we have to get out and vote. We can't afford Mary Peltola. We can't afford a Democratic governor. And we can't afford to keep ranked-choice balloting, no matter how much money from Outside the proponents of that stupidity dump into this thing - again.
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