Politics
Former Rep. Mary Peltola jumps into Alaska Senate race
Former Rep. Mary Peltola entered the Alaska Senate race on Monday, giving Democrats a major candidate recruitment win and the chance to expand the 2026 Senate map as they look for a route to the majority.
The Alaska Democrat’s decision is a victory for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who recruited Peltola to run against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Peltola’s brand as a moderate problem-solver and the state’s ranked-choice voting system open the door for Democrats, but it’s still a steep climb in a state President Donald Trump won by 13 percentage points in 2024.
In her announcement video, Peltola pledged to focus on “fish, family and freedom,” while also calling for term limits and putting “Alaska first.”
“Systemic change is the only way to bring down grocery costs, save our fisheries, lower energy prices and build new housing Alaskans can afford,” Peltola said. “It’s about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like.”
Peltola’s campaign creates another offensive opportunity in play for Democrats, who must flip four seats in order to retake the majority next fall. The odds are long, but Democrats have become increasingly bullish about their chances since their victories in last year’s elections. Peltola carved a moderate profile during her time in Congress, occasionally voting with Republicans on energy and immigration-related legislation.
Even so, Peltola’s decision to run Alaska presents tough sledding for any Democrat. Peltola’s 2022 wins came in large part because of a bitterly divided GOP field, and besides her victories that year, Democrats have won just one other federal race in Alaska in the last half-century.
Democrats have an easier time winning if Republicans fracture between candidates in a state where ranked-choice voting means every candidate faces off against each other in the first round of voting, and Sullivan has not drawn any serious GOP challengers.
Peltola was first elected in a September 2022 special election to replace Rep. Don Young, who served 49 years in the House and died while in office. She cited Young and former Sen. Ted Stevens, both Republicans, in her Senate announcement, who Peltola said “ignored Lower 48 partisanship to fight for things like public media and disaster relief because Alaska depends on them.”
In November 2022, Peltola won a full term, beating a divided Republican field that featured former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich. But in 2024, Peltola narrowly lost in a rematch with Begich, when the Republican Party consolidated behind him. She had also been mulling a run for governor this year, making her decision to go for the Senate a big win for Washington Democrats.
Peltola was the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, and should she win this race would be the first to serve in the Senate.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) holds a sizable cash advantage over his GOP rivals in the race for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat.
The Democrat raked in $3.3 million to his campaign account over the first quarter of the year as he vies to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Pappas, who faces only nominal opposition for his party’s nomination, entered April with $4.2 million in his war chest, according to his Federal Election Commission filing.
Pappas’ leading GOP competitor, former Sen. John E. Sununu, raised $1.1 million directly to his campaign account and had nearly $1.9 million in cash on hand. He spent just $349,000, per his filing — a significantly lower burn rate than Pappas, who spent $2.3 million over the last three months.
Sununu’s primary rival, former Sen. Scott Brown, lagged even further behind. Brown raised a modest $321,000 and entered the second quarter with $783,000 in his campaign coffers. He spent more money than he brought in, according to his filing.
Pappas leads both of his potential Republican opponents in hypothetical polling match-ups of the general election, though his margin against Sununu is slimmer.
Sununu, who has the backing of the national GOP establishment and President Donald Trump in a state Republicans hope to flip, holds a wide lead over Brown, a former Trump ambassador, in polls of the GOP primary.
Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff holds a massive fundraising advantage over the Republicans hoping to unseat him in November, giving him a head start as the GOP field remains fractured.
Ossoff, considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents of the cycle, raised $14 million during the first quarter of the year and ended with more than $31 million cash on hand — a significant war chest that dwarfs the combined totals of his Republican challengers, according to filings from the Federal Elections Commission.
On the GOP side, Rep. Mike Collins led in first-quarter fundraising, raising just over $1 million and entering the second quarter with $2.1 million in cash on hand. Collins has been a front-runner in public polling of the race, but with a large share of voters still undecided ahead of the May primary, the contest appears increasingly likely to head to a June runoff.
Rep. Buddy Carter raised $469,795, but he ended the quarter with more in the bank than his primary opponents — $3.7 million — thanks in part due to a $3 million he loaned his campaign last year. Former football coach Derek Dooley raised $663,502 and has $2.2 million in the bank.
National Republicans are likely to funnel more money into the contest once a nominee emerges, with the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund already planning a $44 million investment in Georgia. But in the meantime, Ossoff has been able to build a financial lead in what’s expected to be one of the most expensive Senate races of 2026.
Rep. Andy Barr maintained his cash advantage over his GOP rivals in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.
Barr raised nearly $1.5 million over the first three months of the year and started April with almost $4.2 million in his war chest — more than five times that of his next-closest rival, according to filings from the Federal Election Commission.
Businessman Nate Morris reported raising $1 million and had roughly $580,000 in his campaign coffers to start the second quarter. But nearly half of that — $450,000 — was a personal loan, per his filing. Morris has now loaned himself $4.9 million over the course of the campaign.
Former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron posted another modest haul; he raised $456,000 and had roughly $765,000 in cash on hand.
Barr holds a slim lead in public polling of the contentious primary for McConnell’s seat that has seen all three major candidates scramble to distance themselves from their former boss and embrace Donald Trump. The president has not endorsed in the race.
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