WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Mary Peltola launched a run for Senate in Alaska on Monday, positioning herself as an independent-minded Democrat and boosting the party’s hopes that a competitive race in a deep-red state could help Democrats secure control of the chamber.

Peltola served as the state’s at-large House member for over two years before losing her 2024 reelection bid to Republican Nick Begich by less than 3 points, in a year when Donald Trump won Alaska by 13 points.

This time, she’ll face Sen. Dan Sullivan, a two-term Republican and a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.

In her launch video, Peltola portrayed herself as the latest in a long line of political iconoclasts by invoking the legacies of two well-liked Republicans in Alaska, former Sen. Ted Stevens and former Rep. Don Young, whom she succeeded in the House.

“Our delegation used to stand up to their party and put Alaska first,” she said. “Ted Stevens and Don Young ignored lower 48 partisanship to fight for things like public media and disaster relief because Alaska depends on them. My agenda for Alaska will always be fish, family and freedom, but our future also depends on fixing the rigged system in D.C. that’s shutting down Alaska while politicians feather their own nest.”

In her video message, Peltola called for term limits and an end to “self-dealing” politicians. She also pledged to address rising prices, noting that a gallon of milk costs $17 in parts of rural Alaska.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee responded by trying to counter Peltola’s image as a moderate. In a digital ad released right after her announcement, the committee portrayed the former congresswoman as a liberal who supports “men in women’s sports” and “open borders.”

“Peltola voted with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at every turn,” the ad states.

Senate Democrats face a tough map in their quest to win the Senate this year, needing to flip a net of four seats. A win in Alaska won’t be easy: The state has elected a Democrat to the Senate just once in the past 50 years, when Democrat Mark Begich ousted Stevens in 2008 to win his lone term. He lost reelection to Sullivan six years later.

Since then, however, Alaska has switched to nonpartisan primaries, under which all candidates run on the same ballot. The top four vote-getters advance to the general election, which is decided by ranked-choice voting. Under the system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If the leader does not get more than 50 percent in the first tally, the fourth-place finisher is eliminated and his or her votes are added to the voter’s second choice. The process may be repeated until one candidate gets a majority.

Alaska voters narrowly rejected a ballot initiative to scrap the new voting system in 2024, but the state announced late last month that a similar repeal measure has qualified for this year’s ballot.

The system helped Peltola notch her first House win in 2022, when she emerged from a crowded primary field of 48 candidates, including Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin, to win a special election following Young’s death. Young had held the seat for nearly half a century. Peltola won reelection later that year, again helped by the state’s ranked-choice system.

“Peltola is obviously a top recruit for Democrats, but this will still be a difficult race,” said CQ Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales, the editor and publisher of Inside Elections, which changed its rating of the race from Solid Republican to Lean Republican after Peltola’s entry.

“Republicans have a fundamental advantage in … Alaska, and knocking off an incumbent senator is different than defeating Sarah Palin,” he said. “But Peltola should have the national environment in her favor this cycle, and that could be enough to push her over the top.”

Peltola had reportedly also considered running for governor, but her decision to enter the Senate race is seen as a recruiting win for national Democrats. The party’s once long-shot hopes of winning control of the Senate have been bolstered by the candidacies of former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina and former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

“Mary has always been a champion for Alaskans, focusing on her core values of fish, family, and freedom. This November, she’s going to win this seat,” the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee posted on social media Monday.

Peltola, the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, supports abortion rights and other mainstream Democratic positions. She picked up the backing of EMILY’s List, which endorses Democratic women who support abortion rights, immediately after her formal announcement.

But she has broken with the party over gun policy. She has often talked about growing up hunting and, while she backs measures such as universal background checks and safe storage laws, she’s touted her support of the Second Amendment.

She has also backed oil drilling in the Arctic and other energy projects that have put her at odds with Democratic colleagues.

During her time in Washington, Peltola focused on sustainability and fishing, one of the state’s key industries. Prior to her congressional tenure, she served in the Alaska House for a decade and was a member of the Bethel City Council.

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