EXPLOSIVE update ROCKS top midterm race

I'm joined now by candidate for the US. Senate in Alaska, Mary Peltola. Thanks. so much for joining me. Hi Brian. Thanks so much for having us. So, right now there is new polling. that's out that shows you leading your. Republican opponent Dan Sullivan by. about five points. Um, for those people in, you know, who are. watching Alaska, who feel like Alaska is. perpetually out of reach, what is your. response in light of this new polling? Well, Alaska is actually 12% Democrats, 25% Republican, and over 60% independent.

non-partisan undeclared. And so that. just goes to show you right there, the. majority of Alaskans prefer kind of a. non-partisan conversation. We have. unique Alaska challenges. We are. constantly looking and collaborating for. Alaska solutions. And I think that if. we're we just keep things plainspoken. and common sense, you can reach anybody. So, I want to talk about what you have.

been saying on the campaign trail to the. voters of Alaska. Um, can you speak a. little bit about your your plan to fix. the rigged system in DC? And I ask this. especially in light of the fact that, you know, a lot of fixing the system in DC or. draining the swamp was in large part. Donald Trump and Republicans platform in. 2024. And of course, now we're seeing a. situation where Americans are paying. more for everything thanks to a trade. war. Gas is.

more money thanks to to the war in Iran, which by the way is an is a war that. Trump promised he would never engage in. And so we've we've seen this song and. dance before. And so how does that um, can you talk a little bit about what. you're offering and how that kind of. informs uh, what the voters are. expecting? Yeah, you know, I came up in a system in. state politics in the legislature in the. late '90s and the 2000s. It was a different time. It was um, there wasn't social media, things.

weren't nearly as partisan. There people. had a much more collaborative outlook at. the state legislative level and in. Congress. And so I took a 14-year hiatus. and so coming back has been just a real. shock and especially seeing the degree. to which partisanship. has. clobbered up the system to such a degree. we have really a do-nothing Congress. We. haven't the US Congress hasn't passed a. budget since I think 1998. It's been.

continuing resolutions year after year. and now it's even going slower than that. where there's where we're chunking it. out. There's tranches of the budget that. we're doing in sections. Yeah. Or whole. sections that aren't getting funded at. all. This really goes to illustrate what. a dysfunctional system we're currently. in. And this is not some kind of. partisan jargon. I think everyone to a. person across Alaska is feeling that. disconnect between our public servants.

and our lives. We can all feel directly. even though it's all, you know, happening in Washington, D.C. clear. across the continent. We can feel the. degree to which the shift has been. focused to the agendas of the. millionaires and billionaires and not. the working households. So I just went. out. I went to six villages on the Bering Sea. coast in the lower Yukon. and the degree of hardship is just very. palpable. When people are paying $10 a.

gallon for gas, $10 a gallon for stove. oil and they're having to decide whether. to buy $5 worth of diesel to heat their. home or. a case of top ramen or cup of noodles to. feed their family. Things are very stark and I just think. that this feeling of being forgotten and. left behind is just now a universal. feeling.

Or you know, I'm sure that in a state. like Alaska, which is which is. historically. a Republican state, how have those conversations gone with. people for whom their partisan. affiliation, their political affiliation. is is kind of intertwined with their. identity? I'm sure there's people there, you know, whose whose grandparents voted. Republican and whose parents voted. Republican and they've voted Republican. and that's a a point of pride and it's. probably not so easy to just be like, "Oh yeah, voted for Republican my whole. life. My family's longtime Republicans. I'm just going to vote for a Democrat.".

Obviously, times are different now, but. what have those conversations been like. for people who are recognizing, you. know, the what Republican leadership has. has wrought? Well, I think, you know, there's a lot. of soul-searching going on among. old-time Republicans, people whose. families have been Republicans for. generations, and they look to people. like Abraham Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt. as standard-bearers or either of the. George Bushes even at this point. And.

then to where we are now, I think um. it's it it it can be very depressing. And and I do have to say that. the for those people who have grown up. Democratic, you know, you know, generation after generation, and have. um you know, role models like JFK or. FDR, um. you know, these are tough times for for. Democrats as well. And and the the. conversations that I like to think about.

are with the over 60% of Alaskans that. proudly say, "I'm an undeclared. I'm. non-partisan. I vote for the person I. think is a good person. I vote for the. person who I feel has compassion and. understands what we're going through and. is going to work really hard on our. behalf. That's Those are the people that. I'm um. really encouraged by. I want to talk a little bit about about. um. what specifically you would like to see.

in the Senate. Can you talk a little bit. about your your priorities, uh. issues that you'll be able to champion. if you're elected? Well, you know, I'm always real careful. to make sure that I'm not overpromising. and I am very focused on November 3rd. I'm obsessed with election day and I. want to make sure that people understand. that this is not a foregone conclusion. We're still 210 days out from the. election. Um things can change. overnight. And we just have to make sure.

that we're disciplined and and um moving. forward every day, but. I also um want to illustrate that I've. had. many, you know, two decades of of public. service under my belt and I have always. worked for Alaskan families and Alaskan. working families and um you know, people. who are living hand-to-mouth and always. thinking of ways we can uh diversify our. economy, boost our economy, get more. funds to families that are struggling.

and and just and and this is I'm not. talking about um one socioeconomic. bracket. I feel like most of us are in. that feeling like we're struggling and. and financially we're losing ground. every month. Um but. you know, I think. when when I talk about. anti-corruption agenda, I am very serious when I say I find it. unbelievable that these things aren't.

il- illegal as it is. Right. Things like. be- uh members being on corporate. boards, things like um being allowed to. do stock trading. Even after sitting through confidential. briefings, having that ability to do um. stock trades, it it it's just really. surprising that there is such a. um ambivalence or just an, you know, an. okay feeling about the the status quo. I. I I think that a lot of folks don't know.

how much you can personally gain by. being um a member, and I think it's. worth noting that the incumbent has. quadrupled his personal wealth in the 12. years that he's been there. His agenda. really seems to be for millionaires and. billionaires and not the working people. of Alaska. So, I want to point out that in terms of. airing commercials and ads in in your. state, it obviously is much different.

from a market like um like New York or. California, you know, Los Angeles, whatever it may be. And so, can you talk. a little bit about for people who are. considering where to to put their. dollars if they're contributing to. campaigns, what it would mean to, you. know, to send 10 or 20 bucks to your. campaign in Alaska versus another. campaign in a major metropolitan market. like, you know, Manhattan or or or Los. Angeles or or, you know, Dallas or. whatever it may be. So, Alaska has one of the least expense,

I think the least expensive media market. in the country, but we really make up. for that in terms of travel costs. And. as Alaskans, we are we were very spoiled. by our um federal delegation in the. past. We really expect candidates, we. expect our representatives to to come to. our villages, to come and come to our. towns and talk to us face-to-face. And. um that is extremely expensive. When I. was uh in Congress and running for. re-election, I got a phone call from DC.

saying, "Why is it 800 times more. expensive to travel in your district. than uh a standard house district and. it's just because we're so large and so. spread out. If we were our own country, we'd be the 18th largest country in the. world. We're really big. At low tide, you could fit three three Texases within. Alaska. We have more coastline than all. of the lower 48 combined. We are just a. vast. um. different state. Really, there are like.

six states within our state. And people. really do have an expectation of. face-to-face communication. I find that. face-to-face communication is the best. There's nothing that can replace that, you know, and I've really enjoyed going. out and listening to people. People have. a lot they want to get off their chest. People have a lot that they are juggling. and they want to talk about it with. someone. They want to share their ideas. for solutions. So, um. And and that takes a lot of money. It.

takes a lot of money and time. to get even a yard sign out to the. hinterlands, to a small village. It's. about $25 per yard sign. And if you're. living in a small village, that is the. only way that you participate in a. statewide campaign like this is putting. up a yard sign in front of your house. So, it's really important that we have. yard signs and are shipping them out. I want to I want to ask one more. question before we before we wrap. And. that is could you give an example of a. moment that stuck with you from the.

campaign trail that kind of, you know, serves as a as a pretty accurate. microcosm for for what your campaign. represents. Has there been a moment or. or an anecdote or somebody that you've. met that that's really kind of put the. whole thing in a perspective here? Well, I I went to a village on the lower. Yukon and. you know, it's really hard for people. who rely on salmon, not just for their. economic household, you know, not just. having that.

kind of foundational food source and. that nutrient source, but. really the ability to teach your kids. how to be Alaskan, how to be native, you. can't really do that with words or. books. Yeah. It really is taught through. hunting and fishing and sharing all the. values that come with that, learning how. to read the weather, respecting your. catch, sharing your harvest, um. firearm safety, gear safety, um all of.

those things when we're not able to. fish, when a community has been told for. seven summers they're not allowed to. fish, it's just soul-crushing. It it's both. um very concerning on a economic. everyday level, but it's also really. concerning on. you know, in terms of wellness, in terms. of um how you know, for so many people. across Alaska getting outdoors and. participating in hunting and fishing is. the bulk of their wellness plan. And to.

be able to then be told, you know, this. is not something that you are legally. allowed to do and if you do it, your. gear will be confiscated, your firearm. will be confiscated. That That is a very. tough conversation to have and. especially if you're in a community. where you're not talking to people in. charge, people in charge aren't finding. their way to your community to have. these tough conversations. So, um you. know, and the fact that they're paying. $10 a gallon for gas and heating fuel.

and they know it's going to go up when. that first barge gets in after breakup, after after the ice gets out of the. river. So, we you know, there's just so. much concern and um we are ready for. some good news and we're ready for. people to start working together to help. us dig our way out of these concerns. All right, well that seems like the. perfect place to leave off. So, I'm. going to leave it there. Again, for. those who are watching right now, you. can go to marypeltola.com if you're. looking to contribute. It makes a big. difference. I'm going to put that link.

right here on the screen and also in the. post description of this video. Um if. you're listening on the podcast, I'm. going to put it in the show notes. Mary, I I could not thank you enough for. taking the time today. Um and uh best of. luck in the campaign trail. Thank you, Brian. Appreciate it.