Mary Peltola reschedules campaign events after Alaska car crash

Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola is postponing campaign events after she and her family sustained minor injuries in a car crash while traveling to a banquet Saturday, her campaign said.

“Mary and her family sustained minor injuries but are in good spirits,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement Sunday. The vehicle carrying them was struck by another driver as they headed to the Alaska Federation of Natives’ annual banquet, the campaign said. CBS News reported that their injuries required medical attention.

Peltola had planned to begin her Alaska Always Tour with events in Fairbanks and Bethel. Bruce said medical professionals advised her to take time to recover and that the events would be rescheduled for later in the week. CBS News reported that the affected events had been scheduled for Sunday and Monday.

“Mary is disappointed that the accident is delaying the start of her Alaska Always Tour, and she is eager to get back on the campaign trail to speak directly with Alaskans about her plan to take on the rigged system and lower costs for working families,” Bruce said.

Anchorage police confirmed that a three-vehicle collision occurred Saturday evening, NBC News reported. Police said those involved had “non-life threatening injuries” and that the collision remained under investigation.

Peltola, 53, is challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term. She won election to the House in 2022 but narrowly lost her reelection bid in 2024. CBS News reported that her 2022 victory made her the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the House in 50 years. She is seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alaska since 2008.

Peltola received the most votes in the August top-four primary, according to CBS News. Sullivan and two other candidates are also in the general election contest, which uses Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.

The Senate race has also become the subject of a dispute over another candidate’s name. NBC News reported that Republicans have accused Democrats of recruiting a second candidate named Dan Sullivan, arguing that his appearance on the ballot could confuse voters. Democrats have not taken credit for recruiting him. The other candidate will appear as Dan J. Sullivan, while the senator’s ballot listing will include his party and identify him as the incumbent.

According to NBC News, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week seeking to block certification of the election if the senator loses, citing the second Dan Sullivan’s presence on the ballot as a potential source of “voter confusion.” Democrats filed a motion Saturday asking a federal judge to dismiss the case.