Republican Sen.
Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola clashed Thursday night in a closely contested US Senate race in Alaska.
The debate, hosted by Alaska Public Media, KTOO and Alaska's News Source, featured repeated interruptions and competing claims.
The race has national implications because Republicans are defending a narrow Senate majority.
Peltola, a former congresswoman who became the first Democrat in decades to represent Alaska in the House following the death of Republican Rep.
Don Young, is challenging Sullivan.
Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up, according to Fox News.
Notes and Debate Preparation
Peltola's use of handwritten notes became an early point of contention.
Sullivan questioned whether the candidates had received the debate questions beforehand.
Moderator Lori Townsend of Alaska Public Media and reporter Wil Courtney of Alaska's News Source said neither candidate had been given advance access.
Sullivan initially challenged his opponent's approach in a post on X, writing, "Really, Mary? Reading off a script?
You can't cue-card your way through the Senate."
Republican National Senatorial Committee official Joanna Rodriguez also criticized Peltola's reliance on notes in a social media post.
Another social media user mocked Peltola's apparent use of notes for personal details.
During the debate, Sullivan again raised concerns about the notes and asked the moderators, "We weren't supposed to get these questions beforehand, were we?"
Townsend and Courtney rejected the suggestion that the candidates had received the questions in advance.
Courtney replied, "No, sir," and Townsend added, "Absolutely not."
Sullivan then clarified his reasoning, saying, "OK," before adding, "I'm just watching my opponent."
Peltola defended her preparation, saying she was better "prepared," according to Fox News.
The Republican Party's research arm subsequently criticized Peltola's performance and her congressional record on fishing policy.
In a post on X, the organization wrote that Peltola did not introduce a single bill to help Alaska fisherman during her first term in Congress.
Staff Allegations and Military Compensation
The debate grew more contentious when Sullivan cited a New York Times report containing allegations from former Peltola staffers about angry outbursts and derogatory language toward gay people and people with disabilities.
Sullivan also cited a claim that 25 employees had left her staff, according to Fox News.
Peltola rejected the allegations and argued that the campaign should not be defined by disputed accounts of her behavior.
She said, "I do not think that this election is about me on my worst day, and I found so many of these allegations concerning and outright fabrications or mass exaggerations of the truth."
Sullivan maintained that the allegations reflected a broader pattern, while Peltola accused him of using the controversy for political advantage.
Moderators urged both candidates to maintain decorum and warned that microphones could be turned off if interruptions continued.
Sullivan also faced questions about his criticism of Peltola's alleged remarks while not condemning President Donald Trump's comments about women and people with disabilities.
Sullivan responded, "I have denounced the president's language on these kinds of issues."
Asked for an example, Sullivan pointed to his response when Trump insulted Fox News personality Megyn Kelly in 2015.
After the debate, he also said he had challenged Trump's remarks about the late Sen. John McCain, according to Alaska Public Media.
Military compensation became another disputed subject.
Sullivan repeatedly claimed Peltola had voted against a pay raise for military personnel, while she disputed his characterization and cited her sons' experiences after military service.
Peltola said, "I have two sons who were enlisted-4 and enlisted-5 when they got out," referring to their military paygrades.
"They were both on food stamps.
I was happy to … vote for that pay raise that our service members hadn't had in 10 years."
Sullivan also criticized Peltola's vote against one version of the National Defense Authorization Act, claiming, "she wanted more transgender surgeries for our troops."
Peltola countered that the legislation would have restricted women's reproductive health care and said she had supported two other versions of the defense bill.
The candidates also disputed campaign advertising connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
Sullivan accused Peltola of misleading voters through advertisements alleging that he received donations from Epstein's associates.
He responded, "I have spent my career defending survivors of domestic violence, of sexual assault, and in this case, I voted to release the Epstein files and protect the victims."
Sullivan added, "She has been running this ad nonstop," according to Alaska Public Media.
Peltola said she had no control over advertisements produced by political action committees.
Economic development also featured prominently, particularly Alaska's long-discussed liquefied natural gas pipeline.
Moderators noted that South Korea had not committed to investing in the project despite Trump's public promotion of a potential agreement.
Sullivan defended the administration's efforts, arguing that Seoul had committed funding through a broader trade agreement while acknowledging that the amount earmarked for the pipeline remained under negotiation.
Peltola supported the project but warned against presenting uncertain investment as established fact, saying Alaska should not be "promoting falsehoods that just have no substance."
Both candidates highlighted the pipeline's potential economic benefits, but their exchange underscored uncertainty about whether the anticipated foreign investment would materialize.
The outcome of the Senate contest could help determine which party controls the chamber when the next Congress begins in January.
