Alaska’s Senate race is getting sharper by the day, and Mary Peltola’s attendance record is now part of the fight. Records tied to her years in the state House, her time on the Bethel City Council, and even her congressional service are being used to question how reliably she has shown up for the jobs taxpayers paid her to do.
Peltola missed 794 of 4,265 votes in the Alaska House, which comes out to 18.6% across her five terms from 1999 to 2009. City records also show she skipped 22 of 60 Bethel City Council meetings between 2011 and 2013, a rate of 36.67% that gives critics plenty of ammunition as she campaigns for the Senate.
That criticism is landing in a race with real stakes. Alaska’s Senate contest could help decide the balance of power in Washington, and Peltola is running in a crowded field that puts her against Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican seeking another term.
Republicans are not being subtle about it. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and other GOP voices are painting Peltola as unreliable, arguing that voters need someone who treats public office like a full-time commitment, not a side gig.
One Republican statement put it bluntly: “Alaskans deserve an all-the-time workhorse like Dan Sullivan, not someone like Peltola who knifes Alaskans in the back when she even bothers to show up,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Nick Poche said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
The sharpest stretch in the state House came during the 23rd Legislature from 2003 to 2004, when Peltola missed 334 of 1,019 votes. Her city council record also showed uneven attendance in 2012 and 2013, including nine missed meetings out of 22 in one year and 11 out of 32 the next.
Her congressional record has also drawn fire. From 2022 to 2024, she missed 235 of 1,370 roll-call votes, or 17.2%, according to GovTrack data, and opponents say that pattern fits a broader image of a politician who is often nowhere to be found when decisions are on the line.
Another line of attack is legislative output. Critics say Peltola left Congress without getting any bill or resolution she primarily sponsored signed into law, while Sullivan has been able to point to measures that made it across the finish line.
“She couldn’t even get a single bill signed into law,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee in January. “Now, she wants a promotion.”
The Peltola campaign is pushing back hard and says the absences are being framed without the full picture. A spokesperson said she took maternity leave after the births of three children while serving in the state House and argued that, once excused absences are removed, her missed votes drop to about 6%.
The campaign also says Peltola was still working for Alaska in other ways, pointing to bipartisan bills and issues tied to rural public safety and energy production. It added that some summer absences came while she was at fish camp or handling other council priorities, which the campaign says were part of life in Alaska, not a sign of indifference.
“Three of Mary’s children were born during her time in the state legislature and she took maternity leave. That didn’t stop her from working hard for Alaskans, from passing bills to improve public safety in rural Alaska to increasing Alaska energy production,” the Peltola campaign said.
Republicans have also faced counterfire from the campaign, with Peltola’s team attacking Sullivan’s attendance and accusing him of missing votes and committee hearings. The fight has turned into a full-blown credibility war, with each side arguing that the other is the one letting Alaskans down.
Peltola launched her Senate bid in January and quickly became a serious player in Alaska’s unusual election setup. The state uses a top-four primary followed by ranked-choice voting, which means the November race can stay messy right up to the finish.
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She finished ahead of Sullivan in Tuesday’s primary, adding more pressure to a contest that already has the feel of a test case for how far voters will look past records, rhetoric, and past absences when they choose who gets to speak for Alaska in the Senate.
