Kamala Harris offers help, Alaska Democrat quickly pushes back in awkward campaign twist

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola has pushed back against former vice president and potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, saying she is not “seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48.”

Notably, Harris lost Alaska to a Republican candidate in 2024 by 13 points during her unsuccessful contest for the White House.

Mary Peltola's campaign rejects Kamala Harris' funding help

Mary Peltola rejected Harris’ unsolicited favor after Harris sent out a fundraising appeal on Peltola's behalf.

“Mary isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48 (a term for the contiguous US) – her focus is and always will be Alaska,” a Peltola spokesperson said in a statement to KTUU published on Friday, August 14.

“That’s why she’s proud to have the endorsement of [the American Federation of Government Employees], the Alaska [American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations], the Alaska [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers] Local 1547 and more than 10,000 Alaskans who have signed up to volunteer with the campaign,” the spokesperson added.

Kamala Harris says only Mary Peltola can flip Alaska

Peltola’s awkward pushback against Kamala Harris came after the former VP, on Wednesday, August 12, sent an email from her political organization to supporters of Peltola, a former US House member.

“If there’s anyone who can flip Alaska and secure the Senate majority for Democrats – it’s Mary,” the email, which was signed “Kamala Harris,” said. “But she cannot do it alone.”

The email asked supporters to donate to Fight for the People PAC, which Harris launched last year, with the money going to both Harris’s organization and Peltola.

While the email did not directly endorse Peltola, her campaign quickly pushed back against the support.

GOP spokesperson ties Mary Peltola to Kamala Harris backlash

Peltola’s campaign apparently had reason to be concerned as her Republican opponent quickly used the email to link her to Harris.

“Kamala Harris supported the Biden administration’s disastrous anti-Alaska agenda, which is why Alaskans rejected her by double digits,” Nate Adams, a spokesperson for the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, said in a statement.

“Alaskans can see exactly whose team Mary Peltola and Kamala Harris are on, and it isn’t Alaska’s,” he added.

Harris remains a divisive figure in the Democratic Party as several longtime donors have refused to back her for a 2028 presidential run.

Earlier this year, Harris, who also ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, left the door open when asked about her future ambitions.

“Listen, I might, I might. I’m thinking about it, I’m thinking about it,” Harris said when US civil rights leader Al Sharpton asked if she was planning to run again.