Peltola stresses bipartisanship while Begich attacks Biden administration in final U.S. House debate

The differences between Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola and her Republican challenger Nick Begich were on full display Monday during the final planned debate of Alaska’s U.S. House race.

Begich, a businessman who lost twice to Peltola in 2022, is again vying for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat against Peltola, a former state lawmaker who won the seat in 2022 after leading for several years an intertribal fish commission.

The outcome of the race could have far-reaching impacts in determining control of a closely divided chamber, drawings millions of dollars in outside spending as both Democrats and Republicans seek to put the seat in their column.

Peltola has pitched herself as a moderate willing to work across the political aisle. Begich has aligned himself with former president Donald Trump and said he represents “the political center of gravity” of Alaska.

Peltola emphasized her record of bipartisanship in working with Alaska’s two Republican U.S. senators to secure federal investments in the state and leveraging her Democratic affiliation to put pressure on the Biden administration.

“I’m really proud of the work that I do in terms of the tone, the tenor,” Peltola said. “I work with people who are very middle-of-the-road.”

Peltola criticized Begich for being endorsed by the Freedom Caucus, the group of right-wing Republicans who seek to shrink the size of government, often using divisive and chaotic tactics to do so. Its associated political action committee, the House Freedom Fund, has funneled thousands of dollars to Begich.

Begich repeatedly blamed the Biden administration for inflation-causing policies and steps to block resource development projects, echoing talking points often shared by Alaska’s Republican politicians.

He also said he opposes allowing transgender women to compete alongside cisgender women in sports, an issue that Peltola said was a “culture war” and “a complete and total waste of our time.”

Since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race, Peltola has declined to endorse a candidate in the presidential election, though she said in July that she is not planning to vote for Trump.

“Most Alaskans recognize that both of these candidates have flaws,” Peltola said on Monday. “I don’t think there’s any wisdom in a person who’s running for a statewide seat to burn up their gas on talking about a presidential race. I think that’s a complete and total waste of time.”

Begich later said it was important for candidates to take a position on the presidential election.

“Part of what we’re being elected to do is make decisions, and that’s one of the most important decisions to make,” said Begich.

Peltola and Begich also differed on Alaska’s voting system, which itself will be on the November ballot. Ranked choice voting and open primaries were adopted by ballot measure in 2020, and first used in 2022. A separate measure on the November ballot seeks to repeal the system and return to partisan primaries and pick-one general elections. That measure, known as Ballot Measure 2, is endorsed by Begich and the Alaska Republican Party. Peltola supports the existing election system.

“The issue for me is the partisan primaries. I believe that partisan primaries have gotten us in America to a place where people are no longer having conversations, they’re just screaming at each other,” Peltola said, adding that the open primaries lead to the selection of candidates who are “more moderate, more middle of the road.”

[Murkowski says she hopes Peltola is reelected to U.S. House]

Begich said the lack of partisan primaries means Alaska’s elections “can be manipulated.” As proof, he pointed to the fact that the November congressional race also features Eric Hafner, a convicted felon serving a 20-year sentence in New York State. Hafner is running as a Democrat in Alaska despite never having lived in the state or visited it.

The congressional race also features John Wayne Howe, chair of the Alaska Independence Party, which opposed Alaska’s statehood and most forms of taxation. Hafner and Howe did not participate in the Monday debate.

Both Howe and Hafner were elevated onto Alaska’s top-four congressional ballot after members of the Alaska Republican Party pressured two Republicans who finished in third and fourth place in the primary to drop out of the race. That includes Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who came in third after being endorsed Trump and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The tone of the campaign is a departure from the last time Begich and Peltola faced each other, when the congressional race also featured former Gov. Sarah Palin. At the time, Peltola and Palin publicly celebrated their personal friendship and remained unwilling to attack each other. This cycle, Begich and Peltola have criticized each other more openly.

On Monday, Peltola attacked Begich for his affiliation with the Freedom Caucus and for an apparent suggestion he made to listeners of a right wing podcast that they vote for Hafner, the New York felon, because unlike Peltola, he had endorsed Harris’ presidential run. Begich has repeatedly questioned Peltola’s efficacy in Congress, pointing to a poor attendance record that is due in large part to the fact that Peltola’s husband died unexpectedly last year.

Alaska’s U.S. House race is one of a handful competitive districts in the country. Federal records show Peltola’s campaign is on track for being one of the most expensive in the country, having raised more than five times the amount that Begich had raised as of last month. Both candidates have also seen millions of dollars spent by independent groups on their behalf.

Monday’s forum, hosted by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, focused mostly on the economy. Peltola repeatedly touted her efforts to secure significant federal funding for the state offered through the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Alaska’s congressional delegation had supported in 2021. While Peltola said the state has “capitalized tremendously” on the federal spending bills, Begich blamed that spending for causing inflation that has harmed Alaskans.

“That inflation has been caused by a government that has been spending more than it’s taking in,” said Begich.

Begich said Alaska’s economy would continue to be based on the oil and gas industry, and that he would work to remove federal review processes that have hampered resource development projects in the state. Begich said he’s spoken “one on one” with Trump, who endorsed Begich last month, about reversing several of the executive actions taken by the Biden administration that have impacted the prospects of resource development in Alaska.

When asked about avenues for economic diversification, Begich named mining and timber sales as options. He said he was opposed to the state’s pursuit of a carbon capture policy that could bring in revenue in exchange for keeping trees standing.

“I don’t believe that we should be paying people not to do things,” said Begich.

Peltola cited tourism, aviation, renewable energy and agriculture as possible avenues for economic diversification, though she indicated she would continue working on resource development projects like Willow, a North Slope oil project approved by the Biden administration last year after heavy lobbying from Alaska’s congressional delegation.

ADN photojournalist Marc Lester contributed to this report.