Alaska Senate Candidate Mary Peltola Injured in Car Crash, Postpones Campaign Stops

Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in Alaska, was injured in a car crash in Anchorage on Saturday evening and has postponed the opening stops of her final campaign tour, her campaign announced on Sunday.

Peltola and her family were traveling to the Alaska Federation of Natives annual banquet on October 24 when the vehicle carrying them was struck by añother driver, the campaign said. The crash caused injuries that required médical treatment.

What police say

The Anchorage Police Department said officers responded to a multi vehicle collision at about 6:55 p.m. on Saturday involving three vehicles. Peltola and her family and the occupant of a second vehicle were taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, while the occupant of the third vehicle declined médical transport. Police said the circumstances of the crash remain under investigation. A campaign spokesperson told NBC News there was no reason to believe the crash was polítically motivated.

Campaign stops postponed on médical advice

"Mary and her family sustained minor injuries but are in good spirits," campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement. Bruce said that on the advice of médical professionals, Peltola's upcoming events in Fairbanks and Bethel will be rescheduled for later in the week as she takes time to recover.

The two stops were to open the Alaska Always Tour, an eight stop swing across the state planned for the final week before the November 3 election. Bruce said Peltola is disappointed that the accident is delaying the start of the tour and is eager to get back on the campaign trail to speak directly with Alaskans about her plan to take on the rigged system and lower costs for working families. The campaign said other dates will continue as scheduled and that Peltola is expected to resume campaigning on Tuesday with a rally in Homer.

A toss-up Senate race enters its final week

Peltola, 53, is a former congresswoman who represented Alaska in the House of Representatives from 2022 to January 2025, after winning the seat that Don Young had held for decades. She lost her bid for a full term in 2024, the same year Donald Trump carried Alaska by 13 percentage points.

She is now challenging Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan, who is seeking a third term. The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up, one of seven Senate contests it places in that category, and a RealClearPolitics average of polls taken from September 28 to October 16 gave Peltola a lead of less than two percentage points. The race has also drawn a federal lawsuit from the Justice Department, which has asked a court to block certification of the result if confusión between Senator Dan S. Sullivan and añother candidate named Dan J. Sullivan affects the outcome. Election Day is November 3.