Peltola continues to far outpace GOP challengers in fundraising ahead of Alaska’s primary election

With days remaining before Alaska’s Aug. 20 primary election, Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola continues to maintain a massive fundraising lead ahead of two Republican challengers.

Peltola’s haul of nearly $780,000 raised in July dwarfed the sums of roughly $63,000 raised by businessman Nick Begich and nearly $47,000 raised by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, according to recent fundraising reports.

Alaska’s congressional seat is seen as one of a handful that could go either blue or red in the coming election, as Republicans vie to protect and expand their thin majority in the U.S. House. But Republican support remains split between Begich — who has been endorsed by local GOP groups in Alaska — and Dahlstrom — who has endorsements from former President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Both candidates have aligned themselves with Trump and his agenda.

Splitting endorsements — which carry the promise of campaign funding — between Begich and Dahlstrom could lead to a repeat of 2022, when bickering between two GOP candidates — Begich and former Gov. Sarah Palin — allowed Peltola to pull away with the win in the first year that Alaska’s top-four voting system was put to use.

Under the voting system, the top four vote-getters in the Aug. 20 primary, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the November general election. In November, voters will be asked to rank their favored candidates. If no candidate exceeds 50% of the first-choice votes, the winner will be determined via instant run-off.

In addition to Peltola, Dahlstrom and Begich, there are nine other candidates running for the U.S. House. None have reported significant fundraising.

The high-profile race has drawn sizable spending by outside groups. A political action committee called Vote Alaska Before Party, which supports Peltola, reported spending nearly $1 million in recent days on attack ads targeting Begich, Dahlstrom and a relatively unknown GOP candidate named Gerald Heikes.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the U.S. House, spent more than $120,000 earlier this month on ads supporting Dahlstrom and attacking Peltola.

All three candidates were in Ketchikan earlier this month for campaign events. Begich and Dahlstrom held a debate hosted by the House District 1 Republicans, after which the local group endorsed Begich.

Since launching her campaign, Peltola has raised more than $7.5 million in support of her candidacy. She has spent $5.3 million, leaving $2.8 million in her campaign account with an eye toward November.

Begich has reported raising nearly $983,000, while Dahlstrom raised $912,000. They have roughly $172,000 and $317,000, respectively, remaining in their campaign accounts. The stakes of the primary election are high for the two Republicans — a poor performance by either one could drive pressure from within the party to drop out in order to increase the chances of the other to beat Peltola in November.

Dahlstrom’s campaign is largely buoyed by support from national Republicans, and a majority of her fundraising came from contributions of $2,000 or more. Dahlstrom raised more funds from Florida-based donors than she did from Alaska-based donors.

In Begich’s campaign, most contributions came from Alaskans. More than a third of his funds came from smaller contributions of $200 or less.

Peltola’s fundraising advantage has allowed her to far outspend her challengers. Peltola reported spending nearly $1.3 million in July, mostly on media buys and digital advertising. Dahlstrom spent just under $335,000, also focused on advertising. Begich reported spending $125,000, including $25,000 for “research and polling.”

Early voting in Alaska’s primary election is underway. Information on early voting options is available on the Division of Elections website.