Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan engaged in a heated televised debate Thursday night in Anchorage, where both accused each other of dishonesty and interrupted one another. Moderator Lori Townsend, of Alaska Public Media News, urged the candidates to maintain decorum, stating, “If I have to shut mics off, I will,” about 15 minutes into the event.
The debate marked the third and likely final time Peltola and Sullivan shared a stage ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Four candidates are on the ballot, including Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg and Republican Gerald Heikes of Palmer. Alaska Public Media, KTOO and KTUU-TV invited only Peltola and Sullivan, who each finished with more than 5% of the vote in the August primary. Peltola led in the primary with 49.5% of the vote, ahead of Sullivan who had 41.4%.
The debate was contentious from the start. In the first question, Sullivan was asked about his views on the Iran war, which he supports. He said he views it as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said is important because Iran is a sponsor of international terrorism, including against the United States. Peltola said peace with Iran isn’t in sight, and the best thing to do to protect the United States and its military is to get out of the fight. “There does not seem to be a peace deal on the horizon, and I think it’s so important that our military be removed and protected,” she said.
Separately, Peltola said, “I’ll take on the rigged system that allows D.C. to wage forever wars while lining their own pockets.” Later, Sullivan noted that after being defeated in her 2024 re-election campaign for U.S. House, Peltola worked for a lobbying firm and accused her of failing to support U.S. troops. “She’s voted against fundraising for pay raises for our troops. And finally, she talks a lot about the rigged system. She defines the rigged system,” he said.
Peltola responded quickly. The vote Sullivan referenced was for a 2023 military defense bill that included a 5.2% pay raise but also included measures that would have limited abortion access for members of the military. Later negotiations resulted in a bill with the pay increase and without the abortion language. Peltola voted for that bill, as did Sullivan, when it reached the Senate. “I voted two times in favor of the pay raise for our troops. I’m very proud of that vote. And Dan just keeps telling lies and Alaskans are sick of it,” Peltola said.
Sullivan returned to the issue in a subsequent question, saying, “My opponent did vote against our military, did vote against pay raise for our troops because she wanted more transgender surgeries for our troops.” “I need to – that is absurd,” Peltola interjected. Sullivan continued, “That is an outrage. That is an outrage for our military. We need to keep building it up.” The 2023 bill included amendments that
