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Mary Peltola

Mary Peltola (born August 31, 1973) is a Yup'ik Alaska Native politician and former U.S. Representative for Alaska's at-large congressional district. A former commercial fisher and member of the Alaska House of Representatives (1999-2009), she won an August 2022 special election to become the first Alaska Native member of Congress and the first woman to represent Alaska in the U.S. House, before losing reelection to Republican Nick Begich III in 2024. In January 2026 she announced a Democratic campaign for the U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Dan Sullivan in Alaska's nonpartisan top-four primary on August 18, 2026, with the general election decided by ranked-choice voting on November 3, 2026. [Mary Peltola - Ballotpedia ↗]