Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Peltola fires campaign staff ahead of Tuesday's primary

Peltola made headlines by distancing herself from former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was raising money for Peltola's PAC last week.

Published: August 18, 2026 7:39am

Updated: August 18, 2026 8:13am

Just days ahead of Alaska's primaries Tuesday, Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola fired one longtime senior aide, changed campaign managers, and dismissed two veteran contractors for her campaign. 

The former House member is seen as the Democratic Party's best chance of flipping the seat Tuesday, in its effort to retake control of the chamber. With a large amount of financial backing, Petola's campaign was mounting a strong challenge to incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, according to The New York Times reported

She made headlines days earlier by distancing herself from former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was raising money for Peltola's PAC. An association with Harris in a conservative state that's skeptical of national Democrats wasn't the boost Harris hoped it would be, and Republicans jumped on it. 

Among those Peltola replaced were Elisa Rios, her campaign manager and a close adviser who had helped run her two House campaigns and a deputy campaign manager. 

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