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Nov 3, 2026 · ranked-choice voting

Alaska — U.S. Senate

⭐ One of the eight competitive races expected to decide control of the Senate. Get caught up ↓

Mary Peltola
Mary Peltola
Democrat · Age 53

Former U.S. representative from Bethel and the first Alaska Native woman in Congress. Yup'ik, former fisheries manager, moderate "Blue Dog" Democrat.

Campaign website →
Dan Sullivan
Dan Sullivan
Republican · Age 61

U.S. senator since 2015, seeking a third term. Marine Corps Reserve colonel and former Alaska attorney general.

Campaign website →
Who's ahead? CookTOSS-UPSabatoTOSS-UPDDHQTOSS-UP
Ratings: Cook Political Report (Oct 6), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (Aug 26), Decision Desk HQ (Aug 5). Source →
Peltola
46
Sullivan
41
AARP (Fabrizio Ward / Impact Research), Sept 8–11, 800 likely voters, first round. Peltola led 53–47 after ranked-choice rounds → Sept 8–11

Where they stand

Tap a topic that's important to you.

PELTOLA SAYS
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SULLIVAN SAYS
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Your ballot works differently here
1Four candidates advanced from the August 18 open primary: Peltola (49.5%), Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (41.4%), Republican Daniel J. Sullivan and Republican Gerald Heikes.
2In November you rank the candidates. If nobody wins a majority of first choices, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their voters' next choices count.
⚠Watch the ballot closely: a second man named Dan Sullivan is running, and courts have let him stay on the ballot amid accusations he was recruited to confuse voters.
Money & campaign finance
RAISEDCASH ON HANDUNDER-$200 DONORS
Mary Peltola
$18.5M$4.6M36% of receipts
Dan Sullivan
$9.1M$7.3M6% of receipts

Campaign committee totals for the 2025–26 cycle, through July 29, 2026. Under-$200 share is unitemized individual contributions divided by total receipts. FEC filings →

Their big promises

PELTOLA'S TOP 3
Make Alaska affordable
Her campaign centerpiece: bring down costs for groceries, energy, housing, and health care.
Fish, family, freedom
Protect salmon runs and fishing livelihoods; defend abortion rights from federal interference.
Alaska-first independence
A Blue Dog record of bucking her party — she backed the Willow oil project and gun rights.
SULLIVAN'S TOP 3
Unleash Alaska's resources
Open more land for oil, gas, and mining; champion the Alaska LNG pipeline project.
Military strength in the Arctic
Grow Alaska's bases and missile defense — the state hosts a fifth of U.S. military assets.
Seniority with the majority
A dozen years of committee posts, backed by Sen. Murkowski and Alaska Native corporations.

Agree or differ?

Alaska oil & gas development
Sullivan champions drilling expansion · Peltola broke with Democrats to back the Willow project
AGREE
Gun rights
Both oppose new federal gun bans; Peltola is a hunter who campaigns on it
AGREE
Abortion
Peltola: supports abortion rights, endorsed by EMILYs List · Sullivan: anti-abortion voting record
DIFFER
Trump's tariffs
Peltola: blames them for Alaska's rising costs · Sullivan: has largely defended the administration's trade policy
DIFFER
Fisheries vs. trawlers
Peltola: crack down on industrial bycatch to save salmon runs · Sullivan: backs the pollock fleet and existing management
DIFFER
Ranked-choice voting itself
Peltola: defends the system that first elected her · Sullivan: his party has pushed to repeal it
DIFFER

Their stories

MARY PELTOLA
1973Born in Anchorage; grew up fishing on the Kuskokwim River; Yup'ik, raised in Bethel.
1999Elected to the Alaska House at 25; served a decade, then managed inter-tribal fisheries.
2022Won Alaska's House seat — beating Sarah Palin — becoming the first Alaska Native in Congress; narrowly lost it in 2024.
2026After heavy courting by national Democrats, entered the Senate race in January with an affordability-first campaign.
DAN SULLIVAN
1964Born in Ohio; Marine Corps officer, still a colonel in the Reserve; moved to Alaska in the 1990s.
2009Alaska attorney general, then commissioner of natural resources under Gov. Parnell.
2014Unseated Democratic Sen. Mark Begich; re-elected in 2020 by 13 points.
2026Seeking a third term with endorsements from Sen. Murkowski and Alaska Native regional corporations.

The backstory

Alaska almost always elects Republicans, so nobody expected this race to be close. Democrats haven’t won a Senate race here since 2008.

Then Mary Peltola got in. She’s a Democrat, but she won Alaska’s only House seat twice, becoming the first Alaska Native in Congress, and lost it in 2024 by just a few points while Trump carried the state easily. In August’s primary she finished ahead of Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term.

Sullivan is running on his record, including the 2025 Republican tax law, which his ads call the “Alaska Opportunity Act.” His main attack is that Peltola sides with “Lower 48 liberals” over Alaska, a phrase he used 16 times at one August forum. Peltola says Sullivan has gotten rich in office and looks out for the out-of-state fishing companies that donate to him.

Fish have become the center of the race, with struggling salmon runs hitting Alaskans’ freezers and paychecks. The two even held a debate in Kodiak entirely about fishing.

Now national Republicans are rushing in. A group allied with Senate Republican leaders has spent more than $18 million on ads here, a sign the party is worried about a seat it usually takes for granted. Vice President JD Vance rallied in Fairbanks on October 5, and Trump is expected in mid-October. On November 3, voters will rank four finalists, including a second Republican named Daniel J. Sullivan.

Sources

  1. Mary Peltola · campaign website
  2. Dan Sullivan for Alaska · campaign website
  3. 2026 United States Senate election in Alaska · Wikipedia (primary results, ratings)
  4. Former Rep. Mary Peltola launches Alaska Senate run · NBC News
  5. Poll: Mary Peltola leads Dan Sullivan · Alaska Current, Sept 21, 2026 (AARP poll)
  6. 2026 Polls: Alaska Senate · 270toWin
  7. Mary Peltola plunges into Alaska Senate race · Axios, Jan 12, 2026
  8. Peltola, Sullivan matchup set in key Alaska Senate race · The Hill, Aug 19, 2026
  9. National GOP groups pour into Alaska for competitive Senate race · Washington Post, Oct 6, 2026
  10. GOP, Dan Sullivan face unexpected challenge from Mary Peltola · The Hill, Aug 2026
  11. Sullivan goes on attack in first post-primary faceoff · Alaska Beacon, Aug 28, 2026
  12. Pitched battle for Alaska’s Senate seat is enveloped in a fight over fish · Alaska Beacon, Sept 21, 2026
  13. Sullivan, Peltola face off in fish-focused debate · The Hill, Sept 2026
  14. Federal Election Commission · candidate fundraising summaries
Positions summarized from campaign websites, voting records, and news reports (July 2026) · race data updated September 2026
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