In a Native Vote 2026 commentary, Mark Trahant argues Alaska voters should judge candidates in the Senate race by policy and congressional accountability, not personalities. He cites allegations about Mary Peltola’s treatment of staff and reported stock trading by elected public.
The New York Times report cited former aides’ accounts of angry outbursts, slurs and firings in Peltola’s campaign and congressional office. Her spokesman, Harry Child, said she was grieving her husband’s death while caring for children through their grief, serving in Congress and campaigning, and sometimes struggled with grief. Trahant argues Congress has largely exempted itself from workplace laws that apply to other employers and should adopt an HR policy that applies equally.
Trahant notes the House Ethics Committee considered domestic-violence and sexual-impropriety allegations involving Republican Reps. Chuck Edwards and Max Miller; Edwards quit his reelection bid, while Miller is running again with Speaker Mike Johnson’s support. Peltola backs a ban on congressional stock trading by lawmakers and their families. Alaska Current estimated Sen. Dan Sullivan made $2 million in trades while in office. The Guardian’s analysis put Trump’s 1,000-plus July stock sales and purchases at $79 million–$270 million. Peltola and Sullivan are expected at next month’s Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage, and Trahant says many there will vote afterward.
