Democratic Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola won’t say who she’s voting for this November after President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris.
At a Zoom news conference with Alaska reporters Tuesday morning, Peltola said she’s “keeping an open mind.”
“Looking at this presidential race, my position is whoever the president is, that is the person that I am interested in working with to help Alaska move forward,” Peltola said. “Whether that president is Donald Trump, or if that president happens to be Kamala Harris … there will be a lot of common ground. There will be a lot of things that we collectively agree on.”
Peltola was asked twice whether she would vote for Harris or Donald Trump. Peltola said her vote for president would depend on the candidates’ stances on energy issues.
“While I really appreciate her stance on women’s reproductive rights, Social Security, voting rights and a host of other things, as the representative for Alaska, my number one job is looking at our economy and our energy situation and which, you know, which of the two candidates will be better in terms of our energy portfolio,” Peltola said. “That is an honest answer. I am not being coy.”
Peltola is facing a tough reelection battle against two Republican challengers: Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a favorite of establishment Republicans and Donald Trump, and Nick Begich III, endorsed by the campaign arm of the conservative anti-establishment House Freedom Caucus. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign group, launched its first television ad targeting Peltola on Tuesday.
Peltola also suggested Harris’ choice of a running mate could influence her decision in November.
“I would love it if she chose a pro-choice Republican, so we could get away from some of the inflammatory partisanship that we’ve seen,” she said.
Peltola told CNN earlier on Tuesday that “as a human being, I do support her,” referring to Harris, but stopped short of endorsing her.
Republicans have decried actions by the Biden administration aimed at restricting oil and gas development in Alaska. In April, the administration said it would impose new restrictions on oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Peltola also walked back her reported endorsement of Biden in 2023, shortly after Biden launched his reelection campaign.
“I have not ever officially endorsed anyone,” she said Tuesday.
She told the Anchorage Daily News at the time that his support for the Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska had earned her vote, saying “President Biden has impressed me with his support for Willow and his commitment to civil, constructive discussions.”
“I’ll support him as long as he continues to include Alaskans in those discussions,” Peltola said at the time.
But Peltola said Tuesday that the Biden administration failed to live up to that commitment.
“So many things have transpired in the last year, most notably the 68 different ways that the administration has moved to shut down Alaska’s economy,” referring to a frequent refrain of her Alaska delegation colleague, Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
But Peltola, a Democrat running for reelection in a state Donald Trump carried by 10 percentage points in 2020, downplayed the significance of any endorsement she might make, saying Alaska would not be competitive in the presidential election.
“I just think in a state as small as Alaska, we all tend to know each other, and I don’t think that endorsements carry the same weight that they do in, in a lot of other places,” she said. “And I also just feel really strongly that in a state where there’s over 60% of our voters who are independent, nonpartisan and undeclared, it’s really important to stay away from, really, you know, entrenched partisanship.”
Peltola also said Biden had aged markedly since the last time the two interacted in September 2023, shortly after her husband, Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., died in a plane crash.
“I think that, just like kids have growth spurts, I think that we have age spurts,” she said Tuesday. “It was very apparent there had been quite a bit of aging that has gone on in recent months.”
Peltola commended Biden’s long career in public office.
“It reminds me a lot of the lifetime commitment that Ted Stevens gave to Alaska, the lifetime commitment that Don Young gave to Alaska, and I really appreciate his commitment to public service,” she said.
Eric Stone covers state government, tracking the Alaska Legislature, state policy and its impact on all Alaskans. Reach him at estone@alaskapublic.org.
