Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign disputed former aides’ allegations that she used slurs, berated staff and shoved an aide, saying a New York Times report exaggerated incidents during her grief after her mother and husband died in 2023.
The Times said its report drew on interviews with nine former staffers, who requested anonymity over fears of retaliation and to protect their professional reputations, along with dozens of contemporaneous text messages and photos. It also reported profane outbursts and staff turnover in Peltola’s campaign and congressional offices.
The campaign said Peltola sometimes struggled with grief after her mother and husband, Eugene Peltola Jr., died within months of each other in 2023, but treated staff with respect and care. On a reported 2024 shove, it said she accidentally bumped the aide while unfocused on the anniversary of her husband’s death. Other former staffers described positive experiences working with her.
