Candidate · November 3, 2026

Mary Peltola

On the ballot for U.S. Senate · Alaska

Registered DemocratChallenger
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$37M
cash on hand
$4.1M
issues with public statements
15
outside spending for or against
$46M

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. Senate · Alaska1,2
Party on the ballotRegistered Democrat1,2
StatusChallenger
How it's decidedAlaska's general election uses ranked-choice voting among the four candidates who advanced from the August top-four primary: if no one wins a majority of first choices, the last-place candidate is dropped and those ballots count for their next choice, round by round, until one candidate has a majority.3
Also on the ballot

§2Who they are

Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Mary Peltola grew up on the Kuskokwim River, where she fished for salmon with her father, and her campaign website describes her as a lifelong fisherman and former fishing permit holder.4,5 She represented Alaska's at-large district in the U.S. House from September 2022 to January 2025.6 She earlier served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009 and on the Bethel City Council from 2011 to 2013.6

Why they say they're running

Her campaign website says she is running because she has seen firsthand how government is failing Alaskans, pointing to declining fish and game, high grocery prices and a political system she says works mainly for politicians and their wealthy donors.4

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, AK-AL7

Websites and accounts

§3What they've said on the issues

Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.

Taxes and Budget

Federal income tax rates

Her campaign website says she would cut taxes for more than half of Alaskans and end federal income tax for working and middle-class Alaskans earning under $92,000 a year, paid for by raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires.10

Social Security and Medicare

Income tax on Social Security benefits

Her campaign website says she would work to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.10

  1. End income tax on Social Security benefits
  2. Keep the extra deduction for people 65 and older past 2028, or make it permanent
  3. Keep taxing part of the benefits of people with higher incomes, and let the extra deduction end after 2028
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Family and Social Policy

Child tax credit

Her campaign website says she would work to pass an expanded child tax credit of $3,600 a year for each child under 6 and $3,000 for each child aged 6 to 17.10

Child care costs

Her campaign website says she would cut red tape and expand grants, forgivable loans and tax credits to make it easier to open child care businesses, including in rural communities.10

Food assistance (SNAP)

Her campaign website says she would work to reverse federal cuts to the food assistance and housing programs that veterans rely on.11

Housing

Large investors buying single-family homes

Her campaign website says she would crack down on out-of-state corporations and hedge funds that buy up homes.10

Homelessness

Her campaign website says she would work to end veteran homelessness, including by restoring the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and adding permanent supportive housing.11

Energy and Climate

Clean energy tax credits

Her campaign website says she would work to restore the federal tax credits for solar, wind and hydropower projects that were cut by the federal reconciliation bill.10,12

  1. End the remaining clean energy credits
  2. Keep the credits as the 2025 law left them
  3. Restore the credits the 2025 law ended or cut back
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Permitting for energy projects

Her campaign website says she would pass permitting reform to speed up approval of Alaska energy projects.12

Nuclear power

Her campaign website says she would work to expand energy tax credits so rural communities can invest in small modular nuclear reactors.12

Elections and Government Reform

Term limits for Congress

Her campaign website says she would push for 12-year term limits in Congress.13

Stock trading by members of Congress

Her campaign website says she would ban members of Congress from trading stocks through the Restore Trust in Congress Act, and would require members to divest their assets or place them in a blind trust.13

Campaign finance rules

Her campaign website says she supports passing the DISCLOSE Act to reveal who funds election ads and a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United decision.13

  1. Limit spending by outside groups, including by amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United
  2. Keep spending unlimited but require groups to name their major donors
  3. Keep current rules
  4. Raise or remove limits on donations to candidates and parties
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Veterans

VA staffing

Her campaign website says she would restore the VA's clinical workforce.11

  1. Hire more VA staff, including to replace jobs lost in 2025
  2. Keep staffing near current levels
  3. Cut VA staff further, especially in administrative jobs
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Veterans' disability and survivor benefits

Her campaign website says she supports the Major Richard Star Act, so that veterans medically retired because of combat injuries with fewer than 20 years of service no longer have their military retirement pay reduced when they receive VA disability pay, and says she would expand survivor and caregiver benefits.11

  1. Let all military retirees with service-connected disabilities collect both payments in full
  2. Expand benefits for some groups, such as combat-injured retirees with under 20 years of service and surviving spouses who remarry
  3. Keep current rules, which already pay both in full to some retirees, such as those with 20 or more years of service and a disability rating of at least 50%
Marked: the option their statement matches.

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Mary Peltola served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Mary Peltola sponsored or cosponsored 14 of the 26. How bills die without a vote.

See all 26

§5Money

Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.

Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.40

Raised$36,887,509
Spent$32,785,383
Cash on hand$4,102,126

Where the money came from

Individual donors$33M · 89%
PACs and other political committees$845K · 2%
Political party committees$1,500 · 0%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$2.7M · 7%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$552K · 1%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $8,300,672 supporting and $37,925,135 opposing Mary Peltola this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.41

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
SLF PAC—$15,636,792
LAST FRONTIER PAC—$10,238,679
NO GOING BACK PAC INC.—$5,600,832
Americans for Prosperity Action, Inc. (AFP Action) DBA CVA Action and DBA LIBRE Action—$3,758,151
MIDNIGHT SUN PAC$3,286,002—
Forward Alaska$1,973,645—
59 PAC—$1,923,737
Lower Costs Now$1,172,587—

Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.

Senate candidates and senators file with the Senate's own disclosure system, which asks each visitor to agree to its terms before searching, so we can't link straight to a filing. You can search for Mary Peltola at efdsearch.senate.gov43.