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Republicans Ask FEC to Probe the Other Dan Sullivan

June 11, 2026 at 6:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Dan Sullivan wars are entering a new phase,” Semafor reports. 

“National Republicans are asking the Federal Election Commission to probe Dan J. Sullivan and an Alaska political operative over Sullivan’s run against Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska, according to a complaint first shared with Semafor.”

“The National Republican Senatorial Committee alleges that Amber Lee, who runs a “consulting firm with an exclusively progressive client roster” and worked for a pro-Mary Peltola super PAC, hasn’t been paid for her work helping launch Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign.”

Filed Under: 2026 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Democrats Get Their Candidate in Alaska

January 12, 2026 at 8:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Democrats are going after Alaska’s Senate race this year, and they’ve landed probably the only candidate that can make it competitive: Mary Peltola,” Semafor reports.

New York Times: “Ms. Peltola, who was Alaska’s sole House member from 2022 until her defeat in 2024, is one of her red state’s few prominent Democrats. She has been considered perhaps the only person who could pose a threat to Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican who is up for re-election this year.”

“In her announcement video, Ms. Peltola made clear that she planned to position herself as a political outsider fixated on state and local issues like Alaska’s fishing industry and rising cost of living.”

NOTUS: “While Sullivan will be a formidable opponent, Peltola’s bid will now force Republican campaign brass to expend resources on the race as they fend off other strong Democratic recruits in Ohio, North Carolina and Maine.”

Filed Under: 2026 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Mary Peltola to Run for Senate in Alaska

January 6, 2026 at 12:57 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) is taking concrete steps toward a U.S. Senate run, including interviewing potential campaign managers, Axios reports.

Peltola is expected to make a formal announcement challenging Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) this month.

Filed Under: 2026 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen


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Alaska’s Senate Race Could Be Competitive

October 21, 2025 at 6:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Alaska Survey Research poll finds Mary Peltola (D) just ahead of Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), 48% to 46%, if she runs against him.

Filed Under: 2026 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Mike Dunleavy to Challenge Lisa Murkowski

August 29, 2025 at 6:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is planning to announce that he’ll challenge fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the 2028 election, Fox News reports.

Filed Under: 2028 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Schumer Courts Mary Peltola for Senate Race

August 14, 2025 at 6:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is “quietly pressing former Rep. Mary Peltola (D) to plunge into the Alaska Senate race,” Axios reports.

Filed Under: 2026 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Lisa Murkowski Pulls Ahead in Alaska Count

November 19, 2022 at 11:05 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican who was censured by the Alaska Republican Party, pulled ahead of her right-wing opponent Kelly Tshibaka in the number of first-choice votes, with late-counted absentee and early votes breaking in her favor,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.

“The incumbent is on track to win reelection when ranked choice votes are tabulated by the Division of Election on Nov. 23.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Trump’s Candidate in Alaska Threatens Lawsuits

November 11, 2022 at 11:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In the days following Tuesday’s election, U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka (R) joined other Trump-endorsed Republican candidates casting unfounded doubt on election results, despite the fact that Alaska election officials are still counting thousands of absentee ballots and have not reported widespread problems in voting,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Said Tshibaka, in an interview with Steve Bannon: “Our war is not over yet. This might come down to things like recounts and lawsuits.”

She added: “So we’re anticipating a whole bunch of shenanigans here in these next couple months between now and January.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Lisa Murkowski Gets an Approval Bump

July 25, 2022 at 2:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) “is experiencing a rarity at home compared to most other senators: an improved job approval rating,” Morning Consult reports.

Murkowski “has seen her popularity improve more than almost any other senator throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign, Senate Tagged With: AK-Sen

New Candidate Scrambles Alaska Senate Race

May 12, 2022 at 9:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Pat Chesbro (D), a former teacher, “announced that she’s making a late run for Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat, complicating a race that so far featured incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski and Trump-endorsed challenger Kelly Tshibaka,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Chesbro said “she made up her mind to run Sunday, influenced in part by last week’s draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court that would strip the rights to abortion granted by the Roe v. Wade decision.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Murkowski Challenger Won’t Back McConnell for Leader

December 13, 2021 at 5:19 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican challenging Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), says she will not support Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as GOP leader, the second Senate hopeful to oppose McConnell as other Republicans publicly attack him to further align themselves with former president Donald Trump,” the Washington Post reports.

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Alaska Senate Candidate Fined for Illegal Fishing

October 9, 2021 at 8:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka (R) has been cited and fined $270 for commercial fishing in a campaign ad without a commercial fishing crew license, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Murkowski Questions Pro-Trump Challenger’s Residency

October 4, 2021 at 7:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “Murkowski took aim at her would-be GOP challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, over the candidate’s ties to Alaska in an interview with CNN, an opening salvo in what could emerge as the most high-profile proxy war between Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and former President Donald Trump in next year’s midterms.”

“Murkowski alluded to a state investigation into whether Tshibaka illegally obtained a fishing license for a sportfishing event in 2019 because she had not lived in the state for the previous 12 months.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Murkowski Would Win In 4-Way Runoff

August 2, 2021 at 3:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Alaska Survey Research poll shows — on the first ballot — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) leading the U.S. Senate race with 36%, followed by Kelly Tshibaka (R) at 27%, Elvi Gray-Jackson (D) at 19%, and Joe Miller (R) at 18%.

On the final ballot, Murkowksi beats Tshibaka 55% to 45%.

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Sarah Palin Teases Senate Bid

August 1, 2021 at 12:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said she may yet jump back into politics, teasing the possibility of a Senate run in 2022 against incumbent Lisa Murkowski, the New York Post reports.

Said Palin: “If God wants me to do it I will.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Alaska U.S. Senate Candidate Under Investigation

July 28, 2021 at 10:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alaska Wildlife Troopers are investigating whether U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka (R) illegally obtained a resident sportfishing license for a Kenai River sportfishing event in 2019, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Alaska Republicans Endorse Murkowski Challenger

July 10, 2021 at 8:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Alaska Republican State Central Committee on Saturday endorsed Kelly Tshibaka in the 2022 race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Lisa Murkowski,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.

“Tshibaka’s endorsement was approved by the committee in a 58-17 vote.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

Quote of the Day

June 30, 2021 at 6:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“It doesn’t surprise me. The president has said, you know, that he’s gonna endorse anybody that has a pulse. This, apparently, is somebody with a pulse.’

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), quoted by Politico, on former President Trump endorsing challenger Kelly Tshibaka (R).

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign Tagged With: AK-Sen

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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