U.S. Senate candidate says Sullivan hasn’t shown up for Alaskans

By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola sharply criticized Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and the Trump administration during a spirited campaign speech Tuesday evening in Homer, arguing that Sullivan has supported federal policy decisions that have harmed Alaskans and calling on supporters to focus on voter turnout to “get our country back.”

Mary Peltola, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator from Alaska, speaks to a standing-room-only crowd of supporters Tuesday at The Porcupine Theater in Homer, Alaska. (Frank Quinn/HIP)

Addressing up to 250 supporters who filled The Porcupine Theater to capacity, Peltola delivered a concise, hard-hitting 15-minute speech followed by personal one-on-ones and photo ops with individual supporters that went well past the 5:30 p.m. stop time. 

Local supporters line up to speak one-on-one and take photos with Mary Peltola (right), Alaska U.S. Senate candidate, at a Tuesday campaign rally in Homer. (Marcia Kuszmaul/HIP)

Peltola said the current political climate has left many Americans feeling anxious and overwhelmed, urging attendees to remain focused despite what she described as deliberate efforts to “flood the zone” with controversy.

“They want us to be off kilter . . . discombobulated,” Peltola said. “Now more than ever, we have got to be strategic. We have got to be tactical.”

“We have got to wrestle our Congress back for Alaska, for Americans,” she said.

Peltola, who represented Alaska in the U.S. House for more than two years (2022–2024), said she initially worked closely with Sullivan to challenge the Democratic Biden administration on issues that didn’t align with Alaska priorities, but said her view of the incumbent changed after the current Republican administration took office in 2025.

“This has been a very injurious administration for Alaska,” she said.

She accused Sullivan of failing to publicly challenge administration policies she said have negatively affected Alaskans, citing elimination of funding for public broadcasting, federal workforce cuts, Congress’s loss of the “power of the purse” and other federal actions.

“We live in a state with 60% federal land, 50% of our economy is federal spending, and a fair chunk of that are the wages that Alaskans earn as federal employees,” Peltola said. “Just in Homer alone, . . . federal employees . . . are our partners. They help us with fishing, weather, research, game management, coordination, fires, everything.  We had open positions, and then they were just mowing people down to meet a quota. That was horrible. Not a peep from Dan Sullivan.” 

On its website, the Sullivan campaign defends the incumbent’s record on economic and energy issues, policies it says strengthen Alaska’s economy, expanded resource development and improvements to national security. 

Peltola also condemned Medicaid changes, saying thousands of Alaskans now have no affordable health coverage and the financial stability of hospitals and rural clinics is threatened.

“Our number one job as a federal delegation really is the economy,” Peltola said, pointing to Alaska’s long-running population decline, rising energy costs, expensive groceries and declining fish stocks.

Peltola urged supporters to verify their voter registrations, encourage others to vote and participate in grassroots organizing during the campaign’s final three months.

She noted that she lost her previous statewide race by about 7,800 votes and said increasing voter turnout would be critical in the upcoming election.

Her declaration of  “We have got to get our country back from whatever this nonsense is. That’s why I am in this race” garnered her loudest and most sustained ovation.

The crowd was made up of enthusiastic supporters.

“She warms my heart,” June Fitzpatrick said. “As soon as she started to talk my eyes started to well up. We’d be lucky to have her.”

Those waiting in line to speak with Peltola were there to voice their encouragement and personal concerns — the need for complete government transparency, the plan for filling the economic void if trawlers are banned, expectations for big changes.

2026 U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola (left) listens to a local resident following a rally speech Tuesday at The Porcupine Theater in Homer. (Frank Quinn/HIP) 

“I believe we have a chance to overcome the negativity in our country,” Brad Thornburgh said. “She can do that powerfully.”

Long-time homesteader Otto Kilcher had an interesting take on Peltola’s candidacy.

“Mary Peltola to me embodies what Alaskan politicians used to embody. She embodies . . . what Alaska was when we grew up,” Kilcher said.

Kilcher’s father, Yule Kilcher, was a delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention and served in the Alaska Senate from 1963-67.

“We had them all in our living room when I was a child. There was Ralph Rivers (first U.S. representative from Alaska, 1959-1966), Ernest Gruening (territorial governor, 1939-1953; U.S. senator from Alaska, 1959-1969) and Billy (William) Egan (first governor of Alaska, 1959-1966). 

“They were all talking about the fate of Alaska. They were all for the people. We forget. We forget.”

Prior to the rally, Peltola (second from right) met with a small group of community leaders to delve into local issues at her local campaign headquarters in the Team Moderate room in Kachemak Center. (Frank Quinn/HIP)