Two days before Alaskans decide one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country, Democratic nominee Mary Peltola is facing an explosive new accusation from inside her own former operation.
Two former staffers who worked in Peltola’s House office and on her campaign allege that she used the n-word on multiple occasions in 2024, while she was serving as Alaska’s congresswoman. The claims were first published by the Alaska news site the Alaska Landmine and have since been picked up by the New York Post and other outlets. Both former aides spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they feared retaliation.
The dinner honoring Black soldiers
The first alleged incident followed an October 25, 2024 dinner honoring the nearly 4,000 Black U.S. Army soldiers who helped build the Alaska-Canada Highway during World War II. The event was hosted by the General Daniel “Chappie” James American Legion Post 34 and promoted by Ed Wesley, a Black Army veteran and former president of the Anchorage NAACP.
According to the former staffer, Wesley pressed the campaign to buy tables and said he would make sure they were filled. The New York Post reports that federal campaign finance records show the campaign spent $8,000 for the event. Wesley later told the Landmine the campaign bought three tables at $2,500 each.
The tables sat mostly empty, and Peltola herself did not attend. When staff told her about the poor turnout, the former aide alleges, she became enraged, repeatedly called Wesley a “scammer,” and said, “I can’t believe that n—-r.”
That same staffer also told the Landmine they had previously heard Peltola use an anti-gay slur when talking to or about gay staff members.
A second alleged incident
A second former staffer described a separate episode during a spring 2024 campaign staff meeting. The campaign was running internal opposition research to prepare for attacks from Republicans, and staff had found a YouTube channel belonging to Peltola’s son featuring self-produced rap music that frequently used the n-word.
During that meeting, the staffer alleges, Peltola repeated the word several times. “It shocked everyone in the room,” the staffer said, adding that no one confronted her out of fear of retaliation. The channel was later deleted, according to the former staffers.
Peltola’s campaign: “An outright lie”
Peltola’s campaign flatly denies the allegations. In a statement, the campaign called the report “an outright lie published by a right-wing gossip blogger” and “part of a smear campaign driven by an unstable, disgruntled former staffer who was fired.”
“Mary would never use this word, which is a vile slur with a painful, hateful history,” a spokesperson said.
No recording or named witness has been made public, and the accounts come from two anonymous former aides describing two separate settings.
Not the first questions about her conduct
This isn’t the first time Peltola’s treatment of staff has made headlines. In September, the New York Times published a report based on text messages and interviews with nine former employees, describing allegations that she shoved a staffer and used slurs. Her campaign said that report exaggerated her behavior, while acknowledging she struggled after the deaths of her husband, who was killed in a 2023 plane crash, and her mother around the same time.
What’s at stake Tuesday
Peltola, a former one-term congresswoman backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in a race that could help decide control of the U.S. Senate. Alaska voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3.
Will these allegations move any votes in the final 48 hours? Alaskans will have the last word.