Alaska has an interesting political landscape. Historically, we have consistently supported Republican presidential candidates, with the last Democratic victory in the state dating back to Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The Anchorage-Juneau Axis stands out as a stronghold for the Democratic party, counterbalanced by the predominantly Republican Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which is home to a significant portion of the state’s population. Eastern Alaska tends to lean Republican, while the native communities typically show a lighter shade of blue in their political preferences.
In the recent 2024 elections, Alaska Republicans navigated the state’s ranked-choice voting system more effectively, although there are ongoing efforts to repeal it. In the Congressional race for Alaska’s lone at-large House seat, the GOP fielded just one candidate, Nick Begich III, who defeated Democrat Mary Peltola in Bethel.
Currently, Alaska’s Democrats are contemplating the next steps with regard to Mary Peltola. It remains uncertain whether Mary herself is interested in further political endeavors. For further insights, readers can refer to Suzanne Downing’s comprehensive coverage on Must Read Alaska.
But the Democrats still see her as their highest vote getter and are trying to find the best race to run her in.
Last month, a liberal-bent Data for Progress poll queried Alaskans to see if Peltola or Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom would be their choice for governor. Data for Progress does polls and surveys for Democrats. Peltola, the Democrat, bested Dahlstrom, the Republican, in that poll.
Just what we need – a Democrat governor. Oh, we’ve had them before. The incumbent, Mike Dunleavy, is a Republican, while his predecessor, Bill Walker, was an independent. Before that, it was Sean Parnell, Sarah Palin, and Frank Murkowski, Republicans, following Democrat Tony Knowles, who served from 1994 to 2002. We even had a third-party governor, Wally Hickel, from the Alaskan Independence Party.
Some are also talking up Mary for the Senate, where she could face Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in 2026. Senator Sullivan won re-election handily in 2020, gaining 53.90 percent of the vote over two independents, Al Gross and John Howe – but the Democrats had no official candidate in that race, although Al Gross only ran as an independent after winning the Democrat nomination.
Like I said, an odd place, politically.
Here’s the catch: Mary Peltola is probably pretty comfortable right now. She still presumably has her home in Bethel, and she now has a lucrative gig in Anchorage with a prestigious law firm, where she does… something. She’s not an attorney, never went to law school, so it’s a bit of a mystery what in her background would make her worth six figures to an Anchorage law firm.
Oh, I’m just kidding. She has contacts in Washington. That’s worth six figures to a law firm.
