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Alaska Senate candidates Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) and ex-Rep. Mary Peltola went after each other in their final debate Thursday evening, reported Fox News Politics. A variety of topics came up – from energy prices and the Iran war to Social Security, healthcare, the defense budget, allegations of misconduct and fishing.
The stakes are high. According to Fox News Politics, the newest Fox News Power Rankings classify the Alaska Senate contest as a "toss-up." Alaska has historically backed Republicans, but their winning margins have narrowed over the last several elections.
The first big clash centered on corruption. Sen. Sullivan described ex-Rep. Peltola as the embodiment of Washington's rigged system. He called out the fact that she had lost her seat and was now making money off of her knowledge of how the capital works as a D.C. lobbyist. Sullivan said that Peltola had earned nearly $500,000 last year as a D.C. lobbyist. He said that she had even founded a lobbying firm after leaving the state legislature. “You’re walking through the revolving door so much, you must be getting dizzy up here,” he said.
Peltola, on the other hand, turned the accusation around on Sullivan. She noted that he had spent a dozen years in D.C., growing wealthier the whole time. Peltola claimed that the Alaskan people have had enough of this kind of corruption. She said Sullivan came to D.C. with $3 million and now has $8 million, and is "doing just fine watching out for himself," according to Fox News Politics.
An additional debate topic centered on how to make life more affordable for the people of Alaska. Peltola appeared to be reading from a sheet of paper while describing her approach to the matter. Sullivan wondered aloud whether she had been given the debate questions in advance. A moderator stated that neither candidate had seen the questions and that was “absolutely not” what had occurred. Fox News Politics reported that Sullivan said he was only observing his opponent reading out answers that appeared to match the questions.
In the most contentious exchange of the evening Sullivan brought up a New York Times report in which anonymous staff members accused Peltola of physically and verbally abusing her employees. He said Peltola has lied repeatedly while campaigning and that the report calls her character into question. Twenty-five of her staff members left her employ because of physical and emotional abuse, he said. And, he said, she belittles African Americans and people with disabilities. He described this as a character flaw.
Peltola reacted angrily to the charges of physical and verbal abuse of her staff and called the reports “gossip” and “unfounded”. Moderators intervened as she was talking over Sullivan, who had spoken over his time limit. “Let’s have some decorum here,” one moderator said.
