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The Democratic nominee for Senate in Alaska has been accused of unleashing 'profane outbursts' that included hateful language towards aides as she tries to flip a traditionally red seat.
asserted
she → sign → seat
Mary Peltola, a former Congresswoman, is considered a slight favorite to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Alaska since 2008.
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Peltola → consider → 2008
However, in a lengthy New York Times feature, nine anonymous former staffers are dishing dirt on their old boss and painting a picture of her as prone to anger, including having shoved a male aide and crudely mocking Planned Parenthood.
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staffers → dish → Parenthood
The shoving incident allegedly took place in February 2024, when she was unable to locate a memo ahead of a meeting.
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she → take → meeting
The aide left the position shortly following the incident, which was confirmed by a staffer in the room and two others who had heard about it.
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who → leave → it
Peltola's campaign denied the shoving match, characterizing it as having 'bumped the aide accidentally' and blaming it on being the first birthday of her husband Eugene following his death in a plane crash in 2023.
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campaign → deny → 2023
She reacted to a commercial that showed her posing for a photo with a commercial fisheries executive by saying of the exec: 'F**k that retard' before saying 'honestly, I nothing him,' a reference to the sitcom Scrubs.
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I → react → sitcom
The campaign told the Times that she regretted saying that word and knew it was inappropriate.
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it → tell → word
At least four staffers claimed to have heard her use the word 'f***ot,' which her campaign denied.
Former staffers accused the Democrat nominee for Senate in Alaska Mary Peltola (pictured) of going on 'profane outbursts' that included hateful language towards aides as she tries to flip the traditionally red seat
Peltola and opponent Dan Sullivan (pictured left) are set to face off in what could become one of the nation's closely watched Senate contests
She has also come to blows with liberal, pro-choice advocacy group Planned Parenthood.
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She → claim → group
In 2024, she became furious via a text message to her staff after they criticized her for voting yes on a bill with anti-abortion policies.
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they → become → policies
'I hope Planned Parenthood knows that if we don't win it's more their loss than ours.
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it → hope → ours
F**K THOSE B****ES,' she allegedly wrote.
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she → f**k → B****ES
She later angrily wrote of a woman on the board of her local chapter of Planned Parenthood: 'I hope she dies of a botched abortion.'
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she → write → abortion
Notably, Planned Parenthood has not endorsed Peltola's Senate campaign after having done so in previous races.
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Parenthood → endorse → races
Peltola also allegedly would become furious with staffers over things such as how they dressed in cold weather or campaign social media posts she didn't approve of.
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she → become → weather
She is also known to ask staffers to fulfill unusual requests, including getting them to fetch live crickets to feed her pet chameleon named Meatball.
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them → know → chameleon
Peltola eventually started bringing the chameleon to her Capitol Hill office and the crickets escaped, with staffers trying to trap them using folders and paper cups.
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staffers → start → folders
Peltola, a former Congresswoman, is considered a slight favorite to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Alaska since 2008
Peltola's campaign denied abusive behavior, blaming much of it on being so close to the 2023 death of her husband.
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campaign → consider → husband
Pictured: Peltola with her family, including her late husband
Her behavior is blamed for Peltola having one of the highest rates of staff turnover during her time in Congress, with some complaining of being driven to tears, losing weight or going to therapy for the stress of their working environment.
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some → picture → environment
That has continued into her Senate campaign, firing several staffers just a few days before her successful primary after she blew up over a 'seemingly minor disagreement.'
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she → continue → disagreement
The major staff turnover came after Peltola became irate over a lack of large campaign signs, texting aides: 'OUR SIGN GAME IS F**KED.'
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GAME → come → aides
After a consultant from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was called in to help with staffing issues and improve morale, several aides heard from campaign lawyers that they were fired or demoted.
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they → call → lawyers
In addition to the responses to individual incidents, Peltola's campaign denied any abusive behavior but admitted that she had trouble coping with her husband's death.
'At the time of their passing, Mary was parenting kids through their own grief, serving full-time in the U.S. House of Representatives thousands of miles from home, and running a competitive re-election campaign — all while shouldering the enormous burden of grief,' campaign spokesman Harry Child told the Times.
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Child → deny → grief
'Like any person who has gone through multiple personal tragedies in the span of a few months, Mary sometimes struggled to deal with her grief.
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Mary → go → grief
However, Child called the abuse allegations from the staffers 'exaggerating and outright lying' and that she treated her employees 'with respect and care.'
Dan S Sullivan (R) and Mary Peltola (D)
Her behavior is blamed for Peltola having one of the highest rates of staff turnover during her time in Congress, with some complaining of being driven to tears, losing weight or going to therapy for the stress of their working environment
The Times spoke to multiple staffers who said that the environment was far from abusive and that Peltola was a good boss.
'Mary Peltola is one of the finest human beings that I've ever worked for,' said 2022 campaign finance director Paul Horner
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Horner → call → that
Tyson Fick, a former special assistant and policy advisor, called her 'awesome and demanding' and admitted she would 'raise her voice' but that the reports are exaggerated.
'There is some communication that could have been better, but I don't think it was ever an abusive scenario,' he said.
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he → call → voice
Peltola is seeking to turn Alaska's Senate race into a potential battleground for control of the chamber.
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Peltola → seek → chamber
She made history in 2022 when she became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress.
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she → make → Congress
Peltola won Alaska's special election for its lone House seat that year and later won a full term, but lost her reelection bid to Republican Nick Begich in 2024.
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Peltola → win → 2024
During her years in Washington, Peltola was known for her moderate voting record, something Sullivan will most likely have to contend with this year.
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Sullivan → know → record
She and opponent Dan Sullivan are set to face off in what could become one of the nation's closely watched Senate contests.
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what → set → contests
The race has the potential to become a battleground for control of the Senate, giving Democrats an opportunity to compete for a seat in a state that has generally favored Republicans in federal elections.
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that → have → elections
Democrats need to flip four seats to take control of the US Senate, with their top prospects lying in Maine and North Carolina.
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prospects → need → Maine
The rest of the map - which includes races in Ohio, Iowa, Texas and Alaska, presents more difficult political terrain for the party.
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which → include → party
The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Peltola in the lead by just over two points.
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average → show → points
The Aporia
