Mary Peltola

Replacing:

Don Young (R)[i]

WORK HISTORY:

US House of Representatives (Member, AK-At-large); Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (Executive Director); Orutsararmiut Native Council (Tribal Court Judge); Sattler Strategies (State Lobbyist); Donlin Creek Mine (Manager of Community Development & Sustainability); Bethel City Council (Member); Alaska House of Representatives (State Representative, District 38 / District 39); Reporter[ii] [iii]

Education:

University of Alaska Anchorage; University of Alaska Southeast; University of Alaska Fairbanks; University of Northern Colorado[iv]

Campaigned On:

Fish; Family; Freedom; Infrastructure Jobs; Development; Regular Alaskan Empowerment; Childcare & Early Education; Food Insecurity; Climate Change; Schools; Health Care; Choice; LGBTQ+ Rights[v]

On the Issues

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Peltola believes there is “no right more fundamental than someone’s right to choose what they do with their own bodies.” She has called for codifying abortion rights in federal law and supports providing public funding for family planning services to those with limited resources. She also supports eliminating waiting periods to obtain reproductive healthcare and expanding access to affordable birth control.[vi] [vii]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

During an October 2022 debate, Peltola said she believes the US is in a recession.[viii] She supports infrastructure investments and will fight for “projects that create good paying, stable jobs for our working families.” She believes wages should “make sense for our cost of living” and has called for the expanded Child Tax Credit to be reinstated.[ix] She supports unions and praised the PRO Act passed by the House in 2021.[x]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Peltola will work to strengthen the ACA and protect Alaska’s Medicaid expansion. She also supports a public option and “more flexible federal dollars to empower state, local, and Tribal governments to build innovative healthcare solutions.”[xi] Peltola would push for more funding to address the opioid epidemic and has pledged to vote for legislation that lowers the cost of prescription drugs and expands access to preventative and mental healthcare.[xii] [xiii] She believes COVID-19 “was and is a health pandemic” and has suggested those who disagreed with its severity and spread misinformation about the virus should be held accountable.[xiv]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Peltola has celebrated America’s “long and proud history of welcoming immigrants,” but believes the current system “does not live up to our values.” She argues that the legal immigration system can be improved by simplifying bureaucratic red tape and has called for bipartisan solutions that include improving border security and creating viable paths for legal immigrants.[xv]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

Peltola has worked to bring awareness to violence and crimes committed against Alaska’s indigenous community.[xvi] She supports legalizing marijuana.[xvii]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

Peltola supported the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.[xviii]

EDUCATION:

Peltola supports increasing teacher pay and funding for public education.[xix] She also supported the child care and pre-K provisions of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” framework.[xx] She has advocated for student loan reform and believes college should be affordable, arguing that allowing people to be “crushed by the weight of insurmountable debt is not how we set our future generations up for success.”[xxi]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Peltola argues that Alaska’s natural resources are “the key to America’s energy independence” and has called for more investment in extraction industries.[xxii] However, she believes the state’s future is in green energy and supports increased investment in long-term renewable energy sources.[xxiii] She would support comprehensive legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat ocean acidification.[xxiv] [xxv]

GUN SAFETY:

Peltola believes that guns are “part of Alaska’s culture,” and has pledged to defend Second Amendment rights.[xxvi] [xxvii] She has called for the creation of a bipartisan committee tasked with bringing “common sense” gun legislation, including secure storage laws, reasonable waiting periods, and universal background checks.[xxviii] [xxix] She does not support a complete ban on all assault rifles.[xxx] Peltola received a “D” rating from the NRA in 2022.[xxxi] FOREIGN POLICY: While Peltola has not specified the level of relief the US should continue to supply Ukraine, she has said the US should support the country in its conflict with Russia.[xxxii] One of the focuses of her 2022 special election campaign for the US House of Representatives was stopping out-of-state fishing ships, often from China or Russia, from coming into Alaskan waters to fish for salmon and holibut.[xxxiii] Peltola has criticized Chinese tariffs, arguing they have limited the manufacturing