Alaska's High-Stakes Senate Showdown Is Set

Alaska's Senate matchup is set, and it's one with national stakes. Former Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan have secured spots on November's ballot after advancing from the state's top-four nonpartisan primary, per the AP—putting a key Senate seat in play. Peltola, an Alaska Native and ex-commercial fisher who stunned observers with a 2022 House victory, becoming the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the House in 50 years, is viewed as the only Democrat with a real shot at unseating the two-term incumbent in the right-leaning state. Alaska hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, per CBS News.

Sullivan, a Marine veteran aligned with President Trump, enters the race with deep ties to industry and Native groups but faces voter discontent over high costs, per the New York Times. It's still unclear which other two candidates will advance. A second candidate named Dan Sullivan was reinstated to the primary ballot by the courts after Republicans cast him as a Democratic plant and could yet emerge as a spoiler in the ranked-choice contest. He appeared on the ballot with no party affiliation, per the AP. As NBC News reports, "the presence of a candidate with the same name as the incumbent could add a new degree of uncertainty in November." State and federal prosecutors continue to investigate his candidacy.