Peltola raises record $7 million in Q2, powered by $50 average donation

Mary Peltola's Senate campaign raised $7 million in the second quarter of 2026, a record second-quarter haul for an Alaska Senate candidate, with less than four months left before November and a Supreme Court ruling that has allowed political parties to spend unlimited amounts in direct coordination with candidates.

Thousands of Alaskans contributed during the second quarter. Donations came from more than 160 towns and villages across every borough and census area in the state, a reach the campaign says has held since launch. About 95% of contributions came in at $100 or less, with an average individual donation of roughly $50. The campaign's donor list spans fishermen, deckhands, boat captains, longshoremen, nurses, miners, trail builders, and small business owners, among others.

"Alaskans want solutions to rising costs, scarcity, and a rigged system in DC that is putting special interests first. It's going to take all of us, but together we'll take on the rigged system in DC, lower costs, and restore abundance to our fisheries. I'm so grateful for the overwhelming support we've received from Alaskans, and we're going to keep going everywhere and talking to everyone to win this race and put Alaska first," Peltola said in the campaign announcement.

A Changed Spending Landscape

The fundraising report lands in a changed campaign finance landscape. The Supreme Court recently ruled that political parties can spend unlimited amounts in direct coordination with candidates, overturning decades of precedent. The campaign says Peltola's opponent has been pledged $20 million in outside spending, and the ruling opens the door to heavier party-coordinated spending on top of that. The campaign frames its grassroots donor base as a counterweight to that outside money.

Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball have both shifted their Alaska Senate race ratings in Peltola's favor. The campaign reports more than 10,000 volunteers signed up statewide and operates field offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Soldotna, with the Soldotna office on the Kenai Peninsula opening recently as part of the campaign's statewide organizing push.

The fundraising announcement comes from the campaign itself, which says the $7 million breaks the record for total second-quarter fundraising by an Alaska U.S. Senate candidate. Comparable second-quarter figures from the Republican side were not available at publication time and would be necessary to assess the full financial picture of the contest.