“Where you live should not determine whether your voice is heard and whether your vote is counted.” - Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, in a speech at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks as Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, listens at the conclusion of a May 5, 2026, roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People held at the Cook Inlet Tribal Council office in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By James Brooks
One of the most prominent figures backing Sen. Dan Sullivan’s re-election campaign is speaking out against a Department of Justice lawsuit intended to aid him.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said on Friday that the DOJ should have never filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to pause certification of the ongoing U.S. Senate election if another candidate defeats Sullivan.
Mary Peltola listens to a question posed by moderator Michelle Egan at a candidate forum held by the Alaska Oii and Gas Association on Aug. 27, 2026. Next to Peltola is i Sen. Dan Sullivan. Peltola, a Democrat and former U.S. House member, is challenging Sullivan. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By James Brooks and Claire Stremple
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Alaska Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola to be criminally charged and drop out or be removed from the ballot.
His comments followed the publication of a New York Times article revealing that her campaign worked with the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit spoiler candidates that could dilute votes for her principal opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
The U.S. Department of Justice has already filed a Trump-directed but legally dubious lawsuit seeking to prevent the state from declaring anyone but Sen. Dan S. Sullivan the winner of the election.
Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, holds a promotional sign and several Division fo Elections pamphlets in the upper lobby at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center during the Alaska Federation of Natives convention on Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By Yereth Rosen
From the opening to the closing of the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, speaker after speaker, information booth after information booth and placard after placard had the same message: a call for Alaska’s Indigenous people to vote.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a candidate forum held Aug. 27, 2026, by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. Next to him is his opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
COMMENTARY
By Larry Persily
A U.S. Senate seat in Alaska is worth the same as one from any other state when Democrats and Republicans try counting to 51, the number needed to control the chamber. All 100 senators get an equal vote, regardless of whether they represent states of far less than 1 million residents, such as Alaska and Wyoming, or more than 30 million, such as California and Texas.
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