Barrier-breaking Alaska congresswoman faces personal tragedy as she faces a tough re-election bid

JUNIAU, Alaska – Alannah Hurley continues to get choked up by the memory of Democrat Mary Peltola’s election to Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat in 2022. Hurley, like Peltola, is Yup’ik and calls Peltola’s election – in which she became the first Alaska Native in Congress – monumental for Hurley and her daughters.

“Finally, we have someone in Congress who looks like us, talks like us, grew up like us, and they have lived experience and understand the beauty and challenges of what it means to be Native to this state and the nation,” Hurley said.

Peltola, 51, is in a tough reelection battle against Republican Nick Begich in a high-stakes race that could help determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the House. The campaign follows a year of intense personal tragedy for the lawmaker, who lost her mother and her husband, Eugene Peltola, within four months in 2023.

Peltola called the weeks surrounding her husband’s death in a small plane crash among the most difficult of her life. About a month later, she returned to Washington, arriving amid a period of Republican infighting over the chairmanship of the House of Representatives. She then said that it was also a difficult time for the country and that she was “ready to get to work.”

Although Peltola hasn’t spoken much publicly about dealing with her grief in the glare of the public, people who know her well say they are struck by her resilience.

“When I think about how Mary kept her head up through everything she’s been through these last few years, I am extremely proud of her,” said Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, who met Peltola for the first time. about 25 years ago, when they were in the state legislature and bonded as mothers with boys.

“She wasn’t allowed to grieve the way most people should grieve. She had to be tough. She had to be present at work.”

Murkowski, a moderate who has sometimes criticized her own party, including its embrace of former President Donald Trump, endorsed Peltola two years ago and has endorsed her again. She noted the hyper-partisan state of politics today, in which each party appears to be denying the other a victory.

“That won’t stop me from being able to say, ‘This is a good woman, a strong Alaskan who focused on her state and who did a good job for us,’” Murkowski said.

Alaska’s other Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, has endorsed Begich, a businessman from a family of prominent Democrats, including his late grandfather Nick, who once held the House seat, and uncle Mark, a former U.S. senator.

Begich, who ran against Peltola in 2022 in races involving Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin, said he doesn’t think Peltola has done enough to push back against the Biden administration’s actions that have hampered the development of resources in have limited the state.

He’s also trying a different approach than in 2022, the first year the election took place under a voter-approved system of open primaries and ranked-choice general elections. Trump, who has spoken out against ranked choice voting, previously blamed Begich for costing Republicans the seat by staying in the race that year.

This time, Begich sought to consolidate conservative support after the primary, in which he was the top-ranking Republican behind Peltola. Two other Republicans who were about to advance to the general election withdrew, leaving two candidates with 1% of the vote, including Alaskan Independence Party Chairman John Wayne Howe and Eric Hafner, a Democrat without clear ties to Alaska who will have to serve a prison sentence in a New York prison on the November 5 ballot.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with Republican House leaders, released an ad targeting Trump supporters saying a vote for Peltola would be the same as canceling their Trump vote.

Peltola is trying to prove that her extraordinary and regular election victories in 2022, following the death of longtime Republican Rep. Don Young, were not “a fluke,” as Trump suggested during a recent tele-rally for Begich. While she has acknowledged her trailblazing status and the significance it holds for many of her supporters, she has also emphasized her role to represent all Alaskans and emphasized her willingness to work across party lines. Most registered voters in Alaska are not affiliated with a party.

“When I first ran for office, people projected to me that I would only be interested in working on Native issues or would only be interested in working on issues affecting rural Alaska,” Peltola said in a speech in October to the Alaska Federation of Natives conference, a large annual gathering. “And I’m so honored to be able to get a message out to people: Indigenous people care about the health of an entire community, the health of the entire environment, the health of our entire society.

“We know that we are not a unique group. We know that everything is connected. Everyone is connected.”

During this year’s campaign, Peltola angered some Democrats by refusing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, although she also said she would not vote for Trump. She emphasized her role as part of Alaska’s congressional delegation in urging the Biden administration to approve the massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The project, backed by many indigenous communities and groups in the region, also has widespread support from politicians and labor groups in the state. Willow’s approval is being challenged in court by environmental groups who say it conflicts with President Joe Biden’s promises to tackle climate problems.

Both the Peltola and Begich campaigns have tried to rally supporters in a race that has drawn intense interest from outside groups. The results may not be known until November 20, when the ranked tables will be announced. Peltola, who was endorsed by the Alaska Federation of Natives, predicted the seat would be won by “dozens of votes.”

“Hey, if we can survive in Alaska for over 12,000 years, we know how to find the polling place, we know how to mail in a ballot. We know how to do this,” she told the group.

Officials have said they are working to ensure everyone can vote in the Nov. 5 election, following instances in recent elections in which some polling stations in rural Indigenous communities opened late or not at all.

Hurley, an independent fishing community from southwest Alaska, said she thinks Peltola has done a good job of focusing on issues instead of focusing on partisan politics. She said Peltola has gone “beyond what could be expected” after the losses she suffered.

Hurley called the criticism Peltola received “shameful” for leaving Washington in July to return home to fish. The announcement by Peltola’s office that she would spend a week “hanging fish with family to fill freezers for the winter” also came as pressure grew on Biden not to seek re-election.

Hurley said livelihoods for Indigenous people are not just about fishing, but also about connecting to the land and culture.

“I couldn’t respect her more for making sure she has the time — while also taking care of her office — to make sure she has time to nurture or maintain that connection,” she said.