Former Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola visited Petersburg on Tuesday as part of her campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Peltola, a Democrat, served as Alaska’s sole U.S. representative from 2022-2025. She lost the 2024 election to Republican Nick Begich III, Alaska’s current representative. She announced her Senate bid in January.
Peltola addressed a group of more than fifty people at the Alaska Native Brotherhood John Hanson Sr. Hall during a one-hour meet-and-greet.
“So many of the things that we are working on in Alaska just become political footballs for people in the Lower 48,” she said to the crowd. “And we’re better than that. We’re bigger than that.”
During her speech, Peltola emphasized supporting elders and children and addressing affordability. She also encouraged residents to get out and vote this year.
“The last cycle, I lost by 8,000 votes. Those are all bush votes, those are all rural votes,” she said. “We could have done that with a few communities. We just need to get out and vote.”
Peltola’s campaign told KFSK she was not available for questions from local media during her visit.
Local Assembly Member James Valentine said Peltola made time to talk to local leaders about a wide range of issues before the event. Valentine said he spoke with her about outmigration in the region.
“As a younger assembly member and a young community leader, I asked her — and just more of stating — my concerns about the younger generation retention in Southeast Alaska,” he said. “She’s from Western Alaska, and I know she feels the same way.”
That same day, Peltola also hosted a meet-and-greet in neighboring Wrangell. This week, she will be visiting other Southeast Alaska communities including Ketchikan, Sitka and Haines.
The Senate primary takes place in August, and the general election is in November.
