Will Alaska be a Pickup for Senate Democrats?

By Joel Connelly

Alaska is of great distance from Washington, D.C., but much closer in figuring Democrats’ bid to reclaim control of the U.S. Senate. They need to flip just four seats, which has put a target ok on the back of incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

With signs of a blue wave next November, his seat has come into play. The 49th state is GOP territory, but its majority voters have displayed a quirky independent, libertarian streak. They have twice defied Trump to reelect independent-minded GOP US Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Sen. Dan Sullivan operates in the shadow of his seatmate.

Alaska is potentially low hanging fruit in a high-stakes, high-expense battle. Television time is relatively cheap. The state has opted for ranked-choice voting in which the top vote getters in the primary election face off in November. A survey by Public Policy Polling shows Sullivan trailing Democratic challenger Mary Peltola by two points.

Only recently has the race appeared on radar screens. After the sudden death of crusty Congressman-for-life Don Young (who served for 49 years) Peltola flipped his seat to the Democrats and was reelected in 2022. She became the first Native Alaskan to serve in Congress, a fisheries expert, born and bred in the Alaska bush.

https://www.postalley.org/2026/04/15/will-alaska-be-a-pickup-for-senate-democrats/