Kamala Harris tried to help Mary Peltola, and both Alaska campaigns pushed back

Kamala Harris tried to raise money for Mary Peltola last week. Both Alaska Senate campaigns treated it as a problem.

Harris sent a fundraising email Aug. 13 through her Fight for the People PAC urging donors to back Peltola. The next day, Peltola's campaign said it had not sought the endorsement. "Mary isn't seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48," a spokesperson said, adding that her focus is and always will be Alaska.

Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign published a statement at 8:26 am that same morning. It went after Harris rather than Peltola, listing candidates Harris has backed who lost: Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, Beto O'Rourke's Texas governor bid, and Jasmine Crockett, who the statement says lost a Texas Senate primary after a late Harris endorsement. It noted she spent 2024 campaigning for Joe Biden.

Endorsements from Lower 48 liberals "don't decide Alaska's elections. Alaskans do," the statement said.

The arithmetic behind both reactions is the same. Harris took about 41 percent of the Alaska vote in 2024.

Sullivan has held the seat since 2015. Peltola held Alaska's at-large House seat from 2022 to 2025, losing it to Nick Begich. The general election is Nov. 3 under ranked choice voting.

Harris's PAC has not responded to Peltola's statement in any material reviewed for this account.