A debate between Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola turned contentious Thursday night, with notecards, staffing allegations and the state’s long-stalled natural gas pipeline all becoming flashpoints in one of the nation’s closest Senate contests.
Peltola appeared to use a notecard with bullet points during the debate, pausing to look down at it while answering questions. The moment drew immediate mockery from Sullivan and his allies. “Really, Mary? Reading off a script? You can’t cue-card your way through the Senate,” Sullivan wrote on X.
NRSC official Joanna Rodriguez piled on with her own post: “Mary, blink twice if you are okay. It seems you can’t string a sentence together without reading from the talking points your Lower 48 handlers wrote you.” The Republican Party’s research arm also circulated a clip of Peltola reading from the card, writing that she “has to read off of a script when talking about Alaska’s fishing industry” despite not introducing a single bill to help the state’s fishermen during her first term in Congress.
During the debate itself, Sullivan interrupted to ask moderators directly whether the candidates had been given the questions in advance. “We weren’t supposed to get these questions beforehand, were we?” he asked. Alaska’s News Source reporter Wil Courtney and Alaska Public Media chief editor Lori Townsend, both moderating, answered no. “OK,” Sullivan said. “I’m just watching my opponent.” Peltola responded that she was simply better “prepared.”
Staffing allegations resurface
The exchange grew more personal when Sullivan pressed Peltola over reporting by The New York Times alleging mistreatment of former staffers, claiming 25 employees had quit while working for her. Peltola called the allegations “outright fabrications or mass exaggerations of the truth” and said the election should not be reduced to her “worst day.” Moderators intervened to call for decorum, warning the candidates that microphones could be cut if the interruptions continued. Sullivan argued the allegations showed a pattern of behavior; Peltola accused him of exploiting the controversy for political advantage.
Uncertainty over the gas pipeline
Moderators also pressed both candidates on Alaska’s long-discussed liquefied natural gas pipeline, noting that South Korea has not committed to investing in the project despite President Donald Trump’s public promotion of a potential deal. Sullivan defended the administration’s work on the project, saying Seoul had committed funding through a broader trade agreement, though he acknowledged the specific investment amount is still being negotiated.
Peltola said she also supports the pipeline but warned against overpromising without firm commitments, saying Alaska should avoid “promoting falsehoods that just have no substance.” Both candidates pointed to the project’s economic potential for the state, even as the exchange underscored how uncertain the foreign investment picture remains.
A race with national stakes
Peltola became the first Democrat in decades to represent Alaska in the U.S. House after the death of Republican Rep. Don Young, and her bid to unseat Sullivan now carries outsized weight for both parties. Republicans are defending a narrow Senate majority nationwide, and Sullivan’s seat is viewed as a prime Democratic pickup target in a state Trump carried in 2024. The race is further complicated by a separate candidate who shares Sullivan’s name but a different middle initial. The Cook Political Report currently rates the contest a toss-up, placing Alaska among the handful of battlegrounds likely to decide control of the Senate in January.
Fox News Digital reported reaching out to Peltola’s campaign for comment.
