Peltola Rejects Times Report on Staff Treatment in Alaska Senate Race
Mary Peltola, the Democrat challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska, denies a New York Times report that said she mistreated congressional and campaign staff.
What the report said
The Times published its account on 23 September 2026. It was based on text messages and interviews with nine former Peltola employees, and it alleged that Peltola shoved a staffer and used slurs The Guardian.
The report also said Peltola frequently yelled at aides. Several former aides who spoke to the Times asked not to be named The Hill. They described profane outbursts and displays of anger during the campaign.
Peltola served in the U.S. House from 2022 to early 2025 and lost re-election in 2024. She advanced through Alaska's nonpartisan primary, where candidates from all parties appear on the same ballot, as a well-funded Democrat The New York Times. In February 2026, the Times reported she was running fund-raising laps around Republicans, like a runner well ahead on the track.
That money advantage came with staff turnover. In August 2026, Peltola fired a longtime senior aide and named a new campaign manager.
How Peltola and Sullivan responded
Peltola's campaign, through spokesperson Harry Child, said the Times account exaggerated her behavior. Child said the stress of House service, combined with the deaths of her husband in a 2023 plane crash and her mother around the same time, affected her behavior. He said Peltola treats staff with respect and care and has kept close, positive relationships across nearly 30 years in public service.
Two former staff members named in coverage gave more sympathetic accounts. Paul Horner, her finance director in 2022, called her "one of the finest human beings" he worked for. Tyson Fick, a special assistant who advised her on fishing policy, said she occasionally "raised her voice."
Sullivan, a two-term senator from Alaska, called the behavior described in the report "sad" and "disturbing." On 24 September 2026, Alaska's News Source reported that Peltola avoided questions about the Times story Alaska's News Source.
Why this Senate race matters
The election is on 3 November 2026. The race is part of the national Senate map. Democrats must win at least four seats to gain a Senate majority, or control of the chamber, and they named Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio as top priorities.
The broader context here is that the dispute is about management and credibility, not policy. The public record shows a challenger with strong fund-raising, a recent senior staff change, on-the-record defenders as well as anonymous accusers, and an incumbent treating the claims as a character question. How voters weigh the explanation about grief and stress, the denial of exaggeration, and the consistency of the staff accounts will shape one of the few races Democrats see as a must-win chance.
