Rep. Mary Peltola is pushing extremely negative campaign messages about Nick Begich, her Republican challenger, as she continues her pivot to a “mean girl” campaign to fight the threat Begich poses to her reelection. Polling shows Begich has pulled ahead of Peltola, which is often what causes the kind of vicious campaigning now being done at the Peltola headquarters.
In her latest messages, she plays audio of Don Young saying he would not vote for Nick Begich. Begich was running for Congress after Young told him and many others he was retiring. But then Young changed his mind and decided to make it an even 50 years in Congress. He subsequently attacked Begich for running, although he had told him earlier he approved of his candidacy.
Peltola is now using the actual voice of a dead man in her ads.
But Rep. Pete Stauber, the key author of the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, is having none of this from her. Peltola burned him by pretending she supported the pro-energy legislation, but at the last minute pulling her vote from it and telling Democrats in Congress to vote no on it.
Peltola has not only used Don Young’s name without his permission, she used Stauber’s name in her recent ad without his permission.
Stauber said, “I like Mary personally, but I support @NickforAlaska. He would have voted FOR the Alaska Right to Produce Act, and so would have Don Young.”
Begich said Peltola continues to co-opt Young’s legacy. In 2022, it was Begich who received the Republican Party endorsement, something Peltola has not disclosed. His campaign chair was Rhonda Boyles, one of Don Young’s longtime campaign chairs. Many thought it was time for the 88-year-old lawmaker to retire after he had served 49 years in Congress.
“The truth is that in contrast to Peltola, our late congressman and Congressional Republicans champion Alaska’s right to responsibly produce our resources – always,” Begich said.
Peltola, on the other hand, double-crossed Alaskans by telling her comrades to vote against the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, which she had signed onto as a sponsor, but then refused to vote for.
Peltola continues to tell Alaskas that she is like Don Young, repeating that line to a room full of oil and gas workers earlier this week at a candidate forum.
But also this week, she received the endorsement she requested of the defund-the-police group MoveOn.org, something Don Young would not have done.
