The Republican National Committee is setting the stage for what might be a challenging meet and greet for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola.

Following the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on March 7, Peltola plans to hold an Anchorage campaign stop at 49th State Brewing (717 W. 3rd Ave), starting at 2 p.m.

In the lead-up to the gathering, RNC’s Western Regional Communications Director Nick Poche sent out an email alert with suggested questions that attendees might ask Peltola as her party continues to withhold funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The questions include the following:

— Do you support the Democrats’ shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security? 

— Coast Guard members, TSA officers, and other DHS employees in Alaska are working without pay right now. Since ICE and Border Patrol have been independently funded and this fight is over Democrats’ desire to defund immigration enforcement, why are Democrats punishing unrelated airport workers and members of the Coast Guard?

— You lost your House seat in 2024 after failing to pass a single bill when you and Democrats held unified control of Washington.  How do you hope to be effective with a Republican administration when you couldn’t protect Alaskans from Biden’s war on energy or pass a single bill under a Democrat administration?

— You have campaigned on an ‘Alaska First’ message, but how can Alaskans trust you when your party won’t even keep the government open and pay the people who manage the waters?

“Peltola talks a big game but shuts up the second putting Alaska first means disagreeing with Washington Democrats,” Poche wrote. “If she wants to be in office, she needs to start answering to Alaskans going without a paycheck right now.”

Peltola is challenging U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan in the 2026 election.

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