Nov 3, 2026 · ranked-choice voting
Alaska - United States Senate
⭐ This is one of seven races that will determine control of the Senate! Get caught up ↓
Mary Peltola
Democrat - Age: 52
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
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?
TOSS-UP
Sullivan
47
Peltola
45
NYT/Siena poll of likely voters — earlier Alaska polls had Peltola ahead
As of July 1
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
1The top four finishers from the August 18 open primary advance to November — regardless of party.
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.
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
Gun rights
Both oppose new federal gun bans; Peltola is a hunter who campaigns on it
Abortion
Peltola: supports abortion rights, endorsed by EMILYs List · Sullivan: anti-abortion voting record
Trump's tariffs
Peltola: blames them for Alaska's rising costs · Sullivan: has largely defended the administration's trade policy
Fisheries vs. trawlers
Peltola: crack down on industrial bycatch to save salmon runs · Sullivan: backs the pollock fleet and existing management
Ranked-choice voting itself
Peltola: defends the system that first elected her · Sullivan: his party has pushed to repeal it
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
Positions summarized from campaign websites, voting records, and news reports · July 2026
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