Election 2026 Alaska Lower 48
FILE - Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, addresses supporters at an election watch party on Aug. 18, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska.
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The most biting insult in Alaska politics is to be accused of being aligned with the “Lower 48." That's code for candidates taking marching orders from powerful forces in the contiguous United States rather than sticking up for Alaskans. It's being used heavily by the major campaigns in the U.S. Senate race. Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan lumps Democrat Mary Peltola in with “Lower 48 liberals” who've opposed expanded oil and gas drilling. Peltola says she'll take on "anyone in the Lower 48 who doesn’t understand what Alaska needs.” The pejorative label can be traced to Alaska's relative isolation and sometimes fraught relationship with the federal government over development of its natural resources.
