Mary Peltola
October 14, 2026 · Newsletter
Trump in Wasilla, Whales in Utqiaġvik
Last night, Donald Trump attacked me on stage at his rally in Wasilla. I wasn’t there to hear it, because I was meeting Alaskans along the North Slope of Alaska.
That photo was taken on the beach in Utqiaġvik. On our first night there, they caught a 32-foot bowhead whale! Watching everyone in the community come out in the middle of the night to help process the whale and share in the abundance was an incredible experience.
Utqiaġvik is the northernmost community in the United States, and I was so honored by the welcome they gave me. More than 200 Alaskans came to our meet-and-greet, and they were so excited to have a candidate hoping to represent them in DC actually visit and hear them out.
The villages on the North Slope of Alaska are often forgotten by politicians claiming to represent Alaska. That’s why it was so important to me to make sure we visited before Election Day, so we could really prove that this is a campaign for every Alaskan.
Alaska is bigger than Texas, Montana, and California combined, and we’ve crisscrossed all 586,000 square miles to hear from Alaskans in every region – and now we’re working tirelessly to get out the vote.
After that first night in Utqiaġvik, we visited Wainwright and Point Hope before making our way to our next hub, Kotzebue, in the Northwest Arctic Borough. Flying on small planes from Kotzebue, we made stops in Kiana, Selawik, and Noorvik, meeting face-to-face with hundreds of Alaskans – many of whom had never seen a candidate for federal office in their lifetime.
While I was on the ground with Alaskans, my opponent, Dan Sullivan, was on stage with Donald Trump in Wasilla in a televised rally broadcast throughout the Lower 48. To me, this demonstrates the difference between us in this race.
Dan Sullivan has completely forgotten about the people he’s supposed to represent. Folks in the communities I visited this weekend are being absolutely crushed by the high cost of diesel, which they use to heat their homes. Alaskans are paying $10 to more than $25 a gallon, largely thanks to the war in Iran that Dan Sullivan has voted to continue 14 times.
Let me be clear: I will work with anyone, including Donald Trump, to get things done for Alaska. But I will never put any Lower 48 politician before Alaskans. That’s the difference between Dan and me. I’m in this race to put Alaska first, and to deliver for the working people of our state.
I’m not seeking any endorsement from the Lower 48. I’m running for Senate without a dime of corporate PAC money behind me. And I’m taking on the entire rigged DC system because Alaskans deserve someone who’s fighting for them – not the millionaires and billionaires.
We’re running a grassroots campaign, and we’re up against tens of millions of dollars of outside spending from dark money DC groups. We’re likely never going to be able to match them dollar for dollar. But when thousands and thousands of people chip in whatever they can, it adds up to something more powerful than any corporation or DC super PAC.
So today, if you can, I’m asking you to pitch in to help power our grassroots, Alaska first campaign. We’re counting on a whole lot of people to pitch in today to help us keep the focus on the issues that matter, so if you’re able to help, especially as we’re facing this onslaught of outside attacks, I’d deeply appreciate it.
This is a make or break moment for our campaign, and I can’t thank you enough for your support. Alaska first, Alaska always.
Now let’s win this thing.
- Mary