Former U.S. Representative Mary Peltola of Alaska is now challenging the Republican incumbent for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Previously she was in the US House representing Alaska where She was the first native Alaskan member of the House, and, if elected, she will be the first native woman in the Senate. Born and raised in Alaska, Peltola has seven children. She was widowed in September 2023 when her husband, Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr., was killed in a plane crash in remote western Alaska.

Peltola studied at several educational institutions, including the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Alaxka, but nevercompleted a degree.

Her political career before entering politics included various positions in her native state such as:

• Interim executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
• Manager of community development and sustainability with Donlin Gold

• Orutsararmiut Native Council Tribal Court member as well as a board member of the Nature Conservancy, the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Alaska Children’s Trust, and the Russian Orthodox Sacred Sites in Alaska

She served as a representative in the Alaska House of Representatives, 1999 to 2009. From 2011 to 2013 she was a member of the Alaska City Council, and was in the US House of Representatives 2022 to 2025 representing Alaska’s At-large district. While in the U.S. House, she worked in the Committee on Natural Resources and the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Alaska primary, which uses ranked choice voting, is in August.