Mary Peltola accused by former staffers of angry outbursts, slurs and pushing aide: Report

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Rep Mary Peltola, now running for Senate in Alaska as a Democrat, faces serious accusations from nine of her former staffers.

According to a New York Times report, these ex-aides describe a troubled work environment marked by angry outbursts, foul language, and even physical aggression. They say Peltola had a short temper, used anti-gay slurs and language offensive to people with mental disabilities, sent inappropriate texts, and once shoved a male staff member. Peltola’s campaign denies several of these specific claims.

Campaign attributes behavior to grief

Peltola's campaign attributed some of the described conduct to a period of intense personal grief following the deaths of her mother and husband within a few months of each other in 2023.

"Mary suddenly and tragically lost both her mother and her husband in the span of a few months in 2023. At the time of their passing, Mary was parenting kids through their own grief, serving full-time in the US House of Representatives thousands of miles from home, and running a competitive re-election campaign, all while shouldering the enormous burden of grief," a spokesman for her campaign told the media in response to the report. 

The Times reviewed text messages showing Peltola wishing death on a Planned Parenthood board member and using a slur to insult a fisheries executive.

Staff described the environment in her congressional office as unbearable; some said they were brought to tears, lost weight, needed therapy, or even thought about quitting. The stress didn’t stop there. People working on her 2026 Senate campaign reported constant anxiety and exhaustion.

Staff shakeup ahead of primary

Staffers complained to the New York Times about having to feed live crickets to Peltola's pet chameleon, Meatball. Some of the staffers who complained about the working conditions in Peltola’s congressional office returned to work for her Senate campaign.

Last month, things boiled over when Peltola suddenly fired or demoted several longtime senior staffers just days before Alaska's primary. She went on to win that primary.

By shaking up her team so close to the vote, Peltola set herself up as a serious challenger heading into the general election against Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

This race stands out as one of the tightest Senate contests this year, thanks to Alaska's changing politics and Peltola's ability to attract support across party lines.

"Like any person who has gone through multiple personal tragedies in the span of a few months, Mary sometimes struggled to deal with her grief. But she treats her staff with respect and care, and she maintains close positive relationships with her staff spanning her nearly 30 years in public service," the spokesman continued. "Exaggerating and outright lying about moments from the hardest period of her life, and falsely presenting them as a pattern of behavior, is wrong."

"Mary Peltola has a problem with violence and aggression, and she doesn't deserve to be a dogcatcher, let alone a US Senator. Mary should apologize for her unhinged behavior," Republican National Committee spokesman Nick Poche said of the reporting.