Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) has officially launched a U.S. Senate bid for the seat currently held by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). “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,” Peltola wrote on X. “We need systemic change if we’re going to fill our homes with abundance again,” she added. “Growing up, Alaska was a place of abundance. Now, we have scarcity,” Peltola said in her campaign announcement video. “The salmon, large game, and migratory birds that used to fill our freezers are harder to find. So we buy more groceries, with crushing prices,” Peltola continued. “It’s not just that politicians in DC don’t care that we’re paying $17 a gallon for milk in rural Alaska, they don’t even believe us,” she added. Check it out: 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. pic.twitter.com/pLnr4GLd9k — Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) January 12, 2026 NBC News has more: Peltola enters the race after having represented Alaska in Congress as its lone House member, with a record of performing better than the average Democrat in the red state. Peltola, a former state legislator, first won a special election in 2022 and a full term later that year, becoming the first Alaska Native elected to Congress. But Peltola lost her 2024 re-election bid by 3 points, as President Donald Trump carried Alaska by 13 points. The path to the Senate majority is an uphill climb for the Democratic Party, which must hold on to several Senate seats in battleground states as well as flipping at least four states held by Republicans. Because of the mix of seats on the ballot in 2026, that would mean winning at least two states Trump won by double digits. The party does not currently have any senators from Trump double-digit states. But Democrats think former Sen. Sherrod Brown could make Ohio competitive, they’re looking at Iowa and Texas as possible opportunities for underdog upsets, and they believe Peltola could put the Alaska race in play, leveraging her name recognition, fundraising and bipartisan bona fides. As she works to appeal to GOP-leaning voters in the state, Peltola, in her launch video, pointed to two late Alaska Republicans, including her predecessor in the House, as examples for the state’s congressional delegation. Recent polls showed a tight contest between Peltola and the incumbent Republican senator. “After voters rejected Mary Peltola’s record pushing radical transgender policies and protecting Joe Biden’s relentless attacks on Alaska energy, she immediately cashed out to lobby for special interests. Voters trust Dan Sullivan to keep fighting for the Alaskan comeback and will reject Peltola again,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement, according to Newsweek. Alaska Research Survey poll | 10/10-10/15 Alaska Senate Mary Peltola 48%Dan Sullivan 46% (incumbent)Undecided 6% pic.twitter.com/lbIK5YHzZF — Politics & Poll Tracker (@PollTracker2024) October 21, 2025 Newsweek noted: Following her entry into the race, two major elections forecasters, the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, shifted the race toward Democrats. Both reclassified the race as either solid or safe for Republicans to “Lean Republican.” “Peltola’s entrance is yet another major recruiting coup for national Democrats, who now have their most plausible path yet to a once out-of-reach Senate majority,” Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report wrote on Monday.