Sullivan, Peltola face off in fish-focused debate

Incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and opponent former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) faced off in their first head-to-head debate Saturday, which centered on the state’s fishing industry

In a moment that the Peltola campaign has already capitalized on with social media posts , the two Senate candidates were asked in a speed round about the effectiveness of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries.

Peltola almost immediately raised her padel to the “no” side while Sullivan did not respond for a few moments. Before he responded, Sullivan appeared to glance at Peltola’s padel before flipping it to the “no” side himself.

“Happy to help, Dan,” Peltola wrote on social media after the debate.

The debate exclusively focused on the Last Frontier’s fishing industry, demonstrating its importance to the state’s economy.

Petola said she wanted to tackle the growing gas prices for fishermen if she were to be elected.

“This is the number one cost for all fishermen, this war in Iran is driving up our gas and diesel prices,” Peltola said during the debate.

Sullivan said he wanted to start “with the ban on the bad actors, banning Russian and Chinese trawl caught fish coming into the United States.”

In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Alaska’s fishing industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss – a nearly 50 percent decline in profitability.

The industry has remained important in Alaska as the state was the country’s largest seafood exporting state, shipping more than $2.5 billion in domestic seafood exports abroad in 2025, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office .

Alaska is a solidly red state, but has also shown an openness to independents and moderate Democrats. Peltola won three elections for the Last Frontier’s lone House seat and independent Bill Walker was elected governor in 2014, while Mark Begich was the last Democrat to win a Senate race in Alaska, doing so in 2008.

Peltola’s entry into the race was seen as giving Democrats a fighting chance in the state, with Cook Political Report shifting the race to a toss-up and citing Peltola’s campaign as a major reason behind the decision. Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) similarly rates the race as a toss-up as well and predicts Democrats are narrowly favored to win.

Peltola also outraised Sullivan in the second quarter of the year, with nearly $7 million to the incumbent’s $2 million, though Sullivan ended with more cash in the bank.