Democrat Peltola widens lead over both Sullivans combined in Alaska Senate race

By Natalie Note

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Alaska Democratic Senate candidate, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) during a midterm election night watch party on November 03, 2026 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Alaska Democratic Senate candidate, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) during a midterm election night watch party on November 03, 2026 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola* has widened her lead over both incumbent Sen. Daniel Sullivan (R) and another Republican candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.

According to the Associated Press, the former U.S. congresswoman now leads by 5,800 votes with 49.2% of the total vote, putting her ahead of both Sullivans combined by 1,601 votes.

Peltola is also now less than one percentage point away from passing the 50% threshold required for her to win outright, without going through more rounds of counting under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.

Peltola’s growing lead further undercuts President Donald Trump’s unprecedented demand that all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. be given to Sen. Sullivan. The president alleges that the second Sullivan, a former teacher, is a spoiler candidate backed by Democrats and intended to confuse voters.

Trump has also demanded the votes cast for yet another candidate, Republican Gerald L. Heikes, be given to Sen. Sullivan for a similar reason.

According to the Associated Press’ current count, Peltola has received 125,157 votes. Sen. Sullivan has received 119,357 votes. Daniel J. Sullivan and Heikes have received 4,199 votes and 5,490 votes, respectively. 

Another batch of votes is expected to be reported later Friday.

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in a Trump administration lawsuit against the race’s certification.  ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.