Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola and her family were injured in an overnight car crash, leading her campaign to postpone several midterm election appearances.
The former congresswoman and her relatives were traveling to the Alaska Federation of Natives’ annual banquet on Saturday night when another vehicle struck their car.
“Mary and her family sustained minor injuries but are in good spirits,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement.
Bruce said medical professionals advised Peltola to delay her upcoming appearances in Fairbanks and Bethel while she recovers. The events will be rescheduled for later in the week.
Peltola, 53, is campaigning to challenge incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan for Alaska’s Senate seat.
With just over a week remaining before the midterm elections, Peltola is reportedly disappointed that the crash has delayed the beginning of her campaign tour.
“Mary is eager to get back on the campaign trail to speak directly with Alaskans about her plan to take on the rigged system and lower costs for working families,” Bruce added.
Her campaign said the Fairbanks and Bethel stops, originally scheduled for today and Monday, will be rearranged. The remainder of the tour is expected to proceed as planned.
Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola and her family were injured in an overnight car crash, forcing her to postpone several midterm campaign stops.
Peltola is challenging incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan for Alaska’s Senate seat.
The contest for Alaska’s Senate seat remains extremely close, with the Cook Political Report continuing to rate it as a toss-up.
Several other polls have shown Peltola holding a narrow lead, raising concerns among Republicans that the once reliably red state could turn blue in November.
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The race has grown so contentious that President Donald Trump personally directed the Justice Department to sue Alaska in an extraordinary effort to block certification of the Senate election results if Sullivan loses.
“I’m the one that said do it,” Trump told reporters Friday after arriving in Florida for a campaign rally, confirming his role in the lawsuit filed by his administration late Thursday.
The lawsuit seeks to stop Alaska from certifying the results of its November 3 Senate race under certain circumstances. It argues that voters could be confused by the presence of two candidates with nearly identical names.
Trump has accused Democrats of putting forward a rival named Dan S Sullivan Jr in an effort to divert votes from the sitting senator, Dan J Sullivan.
Seeking to bolster Sullivan’s support in one of the nation’s most closely watched midterm contests, Trump repeatedly labeled Peltola “No Show Mary” and called her “a whack job.”
Sullivan has also focused heavily on portraying Peltola as inattentive to her responsibilities in public office, claiming she missed “20 percent” of votes during her time in Congress.
The Republican has used that record to attack his opponent, urging voters not to “give her a promotion” and emphasizing that the Democrat did not sponsor a single bill that became law during her congressional tenure.
Supporters of Republican US Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola gather outside the Anchorage, Alaska, venue where the candidates took part in a debate earlier this month.
Records show that Peltola missed almost one of every five votes while working in the Alaska House of Representatives and also as a member of Congress in DC.
Peltola did not participate in more than 18 percent of state House votes between 1999 and 2009, Fox News reported. She also missed more than 36 percent of meetings as a Bethel City Council member between 2011 and 2013, city records reveal.
As a congresswoman in DC between 2022 and 2024, the Alaska Native missed more than 17 percent of 1,370 roll-call votes, GovTrack data shows.
But Peltola’s team has accused Republicans, including Trump and Sullivan, of ‘shamefully twisting her family tragedy to score political points.
