Sullivan stresses Trump agenda; Peltola emphasizes nonpartisan Alaska interests
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a two-term senator, and former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola entered the final stretch of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race less than two weeks before Election Day. Peltola finished first in the August open primary with 49.5% of the vote, followed by Sullivan at 41.4%. Retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan finished third with 2.5%, and 14 other candidates divided the rest. The race drew heavy outside spending and advertising, and the Sullivan and Peltola campaigns accused each other of spreading lies. It is among several contests expected to determine which party gains control of the Senate.
The candidates have framed their campaigns around different priorities. Sullivan, a retired Marine, has emphasized his support for Trump’s package of tax breaks, social service cuts and immigration enforcement that passed last year, as well as his support for the military. Peltola has said she supports additional drilling, would work with Trump to expand it and wants government to advance Alaska interests without partisan allegiance.
Dan J. Sullivan has done almost no campaigning and lives in Petersburg, a small fishing village. His candidacy drew allegations of partisan tactics to recruit a candidate with the same name as the Republican incumbent. The New York Times reported last week that Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in efforts to recruit him; Dan Sullivan had long raised suspicions that Dan J. Sullivan was a “sham” candidate intended to confuse voters. Peltola denied involvement, saying, “I am not interested in tricking voters.” Dan J. Sullivan previously denied any contact with Peltola’s campaign and has not returned messages in recent days.
President Donald Trump, one of the top Republican officials who traveled to Alaska to rally for Sullivan, placed particular focus on Dan J. Sullivan and called him “fake.” Trump ordered the Justice Department to sue to block certification if the incumbent lost, pending an investigation into potential voter confusion. Peltola called the lawsuit “just flagrant, flagrant corruption.” A federal judge dismissed the suit Sunday, prompting a Justice Department appeal.
The Justice Department last week confirmed the existence of a criminal investigation, but Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman declined to identify the potential crimes or the targets. Donors to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign, many from his hometown, said FBI agents had asked whether they felt deceived by the lesser-known Sullivan.
The ballot lists the candidates as “Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent” and “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.,” with no party affiliation for the retired teacher. At a Peltola rally in Juneau last week, voter Dylan Wood said he would always vote for the “most progressive-leaning candidate” in a race and said that meant Peltola. Wood said he did not know the truth behind the claims about Dan J. Sullivan but worried about government interference. “The ballot is clearly marked Dan Sullivan, incumbent. If you want to vote for him, you can,” Wood said.
John Delgado, an independent who leans Republican, said Sullivan had done a good job and seemed to be a “pretty classy act.” Delgado said Peltola should bow out of the race. “If I heard her say that it didn’t happen or ‘I didn’t know nothing about it,’ I would just at that point just think even less of her, because I believe she’d be lying,” he said.
Sullivan’s opponents sought to cast him as a rubber stamp of Trump. He was alongside Trump in late September when the president said South Korea planned to invest about $54 billion in a mega-liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, though South Korean officials said they needed to assess the project’s commercial viability before committing. Vice President JD Vance also traveled to Alaska to rally support for Sullivan.
Sullivan said Peltola was ineffective when she served in the House and said Trump’s efforts to expand oil and gas development in Alaska were at risk if Democrats regained control of the Senate. “Alaska is the firewall for freedom for the entire country,” he told supporters. He characterized the war in Iran as temporary and said the “forever war is the Democrats’ war against Alaskan energy.” The war has been blamed for fuel-price spikes felt in remote Alaska communities that rely on diesel for heat and electricity.
During a televised debate, Peltola blamed Trump’s war in Iran for high fuel prices and the deaths of service members. She said she would “stand up to anyone,” including members of her party, to further Alaska interests. “Alaskans who know me know that I’m not liberal or radical,” she said, adding that she wanted to work “for the best interest of Alaskans in as nonpartisan of a way as I possibly can.” Peltola also expressed support for additional drilling and said she would be willing to work with Trump to make that happen. She said she worked well with Sullivan as part of Alaska’s three-person congressional delegation and called suggestions otherwise a “sad shame.”
The Associated Press reported that the federal government owns about 60% of Alaska’s land and that Democratic presidential administrations sought to restrict logging, mining and the availability of areas for oil and gas leasing over environmental concerns. Peltola, who is Yup’ik, highlighted her roots in the state as both sides pitched the candidates as authentic voices for Alaskans. Her campaign filled her social media with photos from travels around the state and emphasized affordability and combating corruption in Washington, D.C.
A winner in the race might not be known for some time. Alaska accepts ballots postmarked by Election Day from overseas voters for final receipt up to 15 days after the election. That makes Nov. 18 the deadline for final receipt of those ballots and for tabulations under the state’s ranked-choice voting system. Rankings come into play if no candidate earns more than 50% of the first-choice votes.