Former Rep. Mary Peltola. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) is expected to make a formal announcement challenging Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) this month.
Peltola is taking concrete stepstoward a Senate run, including interviewing potential campaign managers, we scooped earlier today.
Why it matters: Landing Peltola in Alaska would give Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer another opportunity to go on offense in 2026, as he looks to recruit his way out of a difficult map.
Schumer has been trying to convince Peltola to plunge into the race since the summer and sees a plausible path to victory.
Between the lines: Alaska's ranked-choice voting system can allow a Democrat to win statewide even in a red-leaning state.
Peltola won two House elections in Alaska before narrowly losing in 2024 to Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) under the ranked-choice system. President Trump carried the state by 13 percentage points in 2024.
The intrigue: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who developed a close relationship with Peltola when she served in the House, seemed conflicted about who she would support in a Senate showdown.
"If she were to run against my colleague, yeah ā it puts me in a difficult spot," she told the Alaska Beacon today.
"But I also think it puts a lot of Alaskans in a difficult spot," she said.
