Dems place early bet on Alaska

• Schumer worked to convince former Rep. Mary Peltola to run for the Senate rather than governor. His outside political organization spent $1.3 million in soft money to let her know the waters were warm if she jumped in.
• Now Schumer's official party apparatus is spending hard dollars to find and persuade a majority of the state's 600,000 voters to support Peltola over two-term incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Between the lines: The Democrats' first major investment in Alaska confronts the challenge of winning in an incredibly rural state, with voters scattered across enormous distances.

• The DSCC's $1 million outlay will go toward a field program focused on building relationships with youth and Native voters, a source familiar with the plans told Axios. The money is also going toward "hyper-local" organizing and outreach.
• Peltola, who lost reelection to the House in 2024, is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. In her surprising 2022 House win, Peltola focused heavily on local issues, like the need to preserve the state's struggling fisheries.

Reality check: Democrats haven't come close to recapturing the Alaska Senate seat since losing it in 2014 to Sullivan, who cruised to reelection in 2020.

• But Schumer is betting he can win again in Alaska. As DSCC chair, he flipped the state for Democrats in 2008, with Mark Begich on the ticket.
• Begich's election marked the first time since 1980 that a Democrat had represented Alaska in the Senate.