Mary Peltola is a Democrat running for U.S. Senate after serving one partial term and one full term in the U.S. House (2022-2025), becoming the first Alaska Native person elected to Congress and the first Democratic woman to represent Alaska. She grew up on the Kuskokwim River in Western Alaska in Yup'ik communities and spent her career advocating for fisheries, rural Alaska, and anti-corruption reforms. After losing her House seat to Republican Nick Begich in 2024 by a narrow margin (49% vs 51%), Peltola was heavily recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to challenge incumbent Dan Sullivan. She is viewed positively across Alaska demographics and has the highest approval rating of any elected official in the state according to 2025 polling.
Mary Peltola (née Sattler) was born August 31, 1973 in Anchorage to Ward Sattler (German-American from Nebraska, pilot and teacher) and Elizabeth 'LizAnn' Piicigaq Williams (Yup'ik from Kwethluk). She is Yup'ik (Alaska Native people) from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Her Yup'ik name is Akalleq ('the one who rolled'). Raised in Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel, she studied elementary education at University of Northern Colorado (1991-1993) and took courses at various University of Alaska campuses (1994-1998). Elected to Alaska House at age 24 in 1998, she served for ten years on various committees including Finance, Resources, and Health and Social Services. She helped rebuild the Bush Caucus for rural Alaska representation. After leaving the legislature, Peltola worked as a community development manager for Donlin Creek Mine (2008-2014), as a lobbyist (2015-2017), and as executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (2016+). She served as judge on an Alaska Native tribal court (2020-2021) before being elected to Congress in 2022 special election. She is married to Buzzy and has seven children.