Peltola Campaign Denies Report She Used Racial Slur About Black Army Veteran as AOC-Backed Alaska Race Hits Election Day
A Democratic Senate candidate backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is fighting off a damaging accusation as Alaskans cast their ballots.
Alaska Landmine, a local news outlet, reported that Mary Peltola, the former congresswoman challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, allegedly used the n-word to describe Ed Wesley, a black Army veteran and former president of the Anchorage NAACP. The claim comes from an unnamed former staffer.
Peltola's campaign flatly denied it. "Mary would never use this word, which is a vile slur with a painful, hateful history," a campaign spokesperson said, describing the story as a smear pushed by a disgruntled former employee who had been fired.
What the Former Staffer Alleges
According to the report, the alleged incident followed an October 2024 dinner honoring nearly 4,000 black soldiers. Federal Election Commission records show Peltola's campaign spent $8,000 on tables for the event.
Wesley had reportedly assured Peltola the tables would be filled. When seats sat empty, the former staffer claims, Peltola grew angry and repeatedly called Wesley a scammer before allegedly using the slur.
The account has not been independently confirmed, and the campaign is challenging both the story and the credibility of the person telling it.
It is not the first complaint about Peltola's conduct toward staff. Earlier reports described allegations of angry outbursts and offensive language, including a disability slur and an anti-gay slur, as well as a claim that she shoved a male employee.
The AOC Connection
The controversy is drawing attention to the national progressives who lined up behind Peltola. In January, Ocasio-Cortez urged her small-dollar donors to support the Alaska challenger, steering part of her fundraising network toward the race.
The New York Post sought comment from Ocasio-Cortez about the allegation, but she did not respond, according to the report.
Peltola herself does not fit the progressive mold. She was the only Democrat endorsed by the National Rifle Association in 2024, pushed the Biden administration to support Arctic drilling and has touted her role in winning approval for ConocoPhillips' $8 billion Willow Project.
A Race That Could Decide the Senate
The stakes are high. Polling has shown Peltola leading Sullivan by about two points, and the seat could help decide which party controls the Senate next year.
The new accusation lands on top of a separate fight over a Republican candidate on the ballot named Dan J. Sullivan, whose name closely resembles the incumbent's.
In a Monday interview with Newsmax, Sen. Sullivan accused Peltola's campaign and Democratic allies of helping recruit the similarly named candidate to confuse voters. Peltola has said she did not know about any such effort.
Sullivan said anger over the issue was energizing his supporters and that he was seeing large crowds at his rallies, urging Alaskans to answer the controversy at the ballot box.
For Peltola, the final hours of the campaign now mean defending her personal conduct as well as her record, with her team insisting she would never use the word attributed to her.
Alaska's polls close at 8 p.m. local time, though the state's ranked-choice system means the final outcome could take days to settle.