Alaska News covers the 2026 U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, including campaign spending.
Three super PACs spent nearly $1 million in a single day on Alaska's U.S. Senate race, with groups backing Sullivan and opposing Peltola dominating the spending 12 days before the Aug. 18 primary.

Both certain to advance, Sullivan and Peltola are already spending at a record pace — because Alaska's seat could decide control of the U.S. Senate.

National money is flooding Alaska's Senate and House races on all sides, from a dark-money-linked PAC backing Bill Hill to $10.6 million reserved for Mary Peltola.

Record money is flooding Alaska's Peltola-Sullivan Senate race from both sides, with super PACs pledging $15M for Sullivan and $11M for Peltola.

Outside groups poured another $210,000 into the Alaska Senate race this week, mostly against Sullivan — the latest in a year where Peltola leads the money flow but Sullivan holds other edges.

Daniel J. Sullivan filed as a Republican and won his fight to stay on the Senate ballot. His reward: he appears with no party label, while the incumbent gets "Republican, incumbent."

Alaska's AFL-CIO backed Peltola — no shock there — but three building-trades unions went for Sullivan, splitting labor in a toss-up Senate race.

The Supreme Court upheld the late-arriving-ballot rule that much of rural Alaska relies on to vote. Primary by-mail applications are due Aug. 8.

Mary Peltola's campaign built a browser game where you play a salmon dodging trawler nets. Subtle it is not.

Newly released letters show Petersburg residents demanding the state show its evidence for pulling their neighbor off the Senate ballot.

The court put the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot but left the labeling to the state — and the state's fix leaves him the only candidate of 16 with no party listed.

Aleutians East Borough won a legal fight over salmon fishing rules in May and is now directing voters to check where candidates stand on fisheries in the 2026 governor, Senate, and House races.

Peltola is out-raising Sullivan roughly four to one this year. Sullivan still has more money in the bank. Both facts are true at once.

Alaska Democrats are gathering at an Anchorage park Thursday evening to sign up volunteers, four weeks out from a primary with a Senate seat on it.

Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign features a retired Marine who says the VA initially told him to move to Seattle for care, arguing Alaska veterans lack reliable access to specialized treatment at home.

Mary Peltola, Alaska's first Alaska Native in Congress, challenges Republican Dan Sullivan for his U.S. Senate seat Nov. 3, with mid-2026 polls showing her ahead by five to seven points.
Two Dan Sullivans will appear on Alaska's August 18 primary ballot after a court ruled the challenger cannot be removed, though his Republican party label will not print next to his name.

The SAVE Act is now attached to the defense bill carrying Alaska's military money — putting Murkowski's opposition against Sullivan's biggest win in one vote.

Senate candidate Mary Peltola cited fuel prices of $21 a gallon in Noatak and $14 to $15 expected in St. Mary's, calling for Congress to investigate price gouging.

FactCheck.org found Sullivan's ads misleadingly claim Peltola opposed military pay raises, though she voted for the final defense bill with a 5.2% raise. The Senate race is now a toss-up.
Outside groups have spent $2.5 million on Alaska's federal races ahead of the August 18 primary, with most of that money targeting Democrat Mary Peltola's Senate bid.

Peltola raised $16 million from 131,000 donors, averaging under $50 per gift. • She accused Sullivan of taking $400,000 from the trawling industry. • Peltola frames the race around salmon protection for subsistence communities.

Mary Peltola's Senate campaign is offering grants to Alaska artists for new work, with applications due August 7 and selected pieces shown in an October 9 auction.

An Alaska newsroom is running a daily audit of what AI tells voters — 15 models, 160,000+ answers — and finding the bots flip their pick by the day, and by your hometown.
Peltola posted a record $7M quarter in the Alaska Senate race — a real haul, but Sullivan holds more cash on hand, his Q2 number isn't in yet, and outside money will dwarf both.
Mary Peltola wants 12-year congressional term limits. She is asking Alaska lawmakers to force a legal challenge to federal rules.

Alaska Supreme Court ordered the Division of Elections to place retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the August 18 primary ballot alongside U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Democrats are using AI to analyze canvassers' notes and guide outreach in Alaska's Senate race — an approach privacy advocates warn can profile voters without consent.
Sullivan is dropping $2.2M on ads before Alaska's primary — an early sign of how much money is about to flood one of the country's most competitive Senate races.

Sullivan introduced a bycatch bill he calls the most sweeping ever; Peltola, who's owned the salmon issue for years, counters with a tougher plan. The science is contested.






AI 53% · Mkt 49% · Poll 45%
AI 44% · Mkt 53% · Poll 47%
Composite = avg of AI + Markets + Polls. 7-day average through 2026-08-07. Ratings from the Election Voting Monitor. See the full Alaska U.S. Senate 2026 analysis.