Fairbanks, Alaska

Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and her family suffered minor injuries Saturday night when their vehicle was rear-ended at an Anchorage intersection while traveling to a campaign event, her campaign said. Peltola's campaign manager, Cheryl Bruce, said the family is "in good spirits" but that Peltola rescheduled appearances in Fairbanks and Bethel on medical advice, delaying the planned start of her "Alaska Always Tour." Other campaign stops are continuing as scheduled. Peltola faces Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in a closely watched race that could help determine Senate control, with the ballot also including Gerald Heikes and a non-party-affiliated candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., whose candidacy has drawn criticism from Republicans, including President Trump, as a potential source of voter confusion.

Ahead of Alaska's Nov. 3 general election, several Anchorage-area House races are drawing the heaviest campaign fundraising and outside spending in the state, with control of the chamber's bipartisan majority at stake. Democrats Denny Wells and Danni Hall, challenging Republican incumbents Mia Costello and Julie Coulombe, each raised roughly $50,000 in the latest reporting period, aided by labor-backed contributions. Independent Rep. Ky Holland and Republican challenger John Boyle remain nearly even in fundraising in a closely watched South Anchorage district, while former Rep. Cliff Groh has built a large financial lead over Republican Dan Sager in a race for an open JBER-area seat.

Independent expenditure groups have added nearly $1 million more, with labor-funded Putting Alaskans First backing moderate and bipartisan-aligned candidates, and conservative groups like Moving Alaska Forward and Families of the Last Frontier supporting Republicans in competitive districts spanning Kodiak, the Kenai Peninsula, and near Fairbanks. August primary results suggest the current 21-seat bipartisan majority could persist, though several close races remain contested heading into November.

Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Fairbanks on Monday for Senator Dan Sullivan, framing Alaska as a crucial firewall for Republicans as they fight to keep control of Congress in the November 3 midterms. Sullivan, a close Trump ally, faces a tighter-than-expected race against Democrat Mary Peltola, who is running on a "Fish, Family and Freedom" platform that casts Sullivan as too tied to Trump and outside interests. A recent New York Times poll showed Peltola with a lead, though the state's rural population makes polling difficult.

Vance and Trump have cast the midterms as a referendum on the administration, touring battleground and traditionally safe states alike. Sullivan has tied his campaign to energy policy, touting a $200 billion Alaska energy investment package backed by Trump, including a South Korea-linked pipeline project, and $150 million in newly announced federal funding for electrical transmission upgrades. He has also pushed for a ban on diesel exports as fuel prices climb amid ongoing global conflicts. Cost-of-living concerns remain central to the race in a state where energy costs run higher than the national average.

Alaska's U.S. House primary has narrowed to a general-election contest between Republican incumbent Nick Begich, independent Bill Hill, an incarcerated New York Democrat, and a Fairbanks Libertarian, after several Democratic contenders dropped out. Certified results showed Begich winning the primary with 44.6% to Hill's 32.5%, a 12-point gap. Anchorage Democrat Matt Schultz, the party's former front-runner, suspended his campaign in July, citing weak institutional support, and endorsed Hill; other Democratic candidates also withdrew to consolidate anti-Begich votes.

Hill, a Dena'ina Athabascan educator and fisherman, is campaigning on healthcare costs and inflation while also backing oil and gas development alongside renewables. Begich, part of a prominent Alaska political family who unseated Mary Peltola in 2024, is running on legislative wins including energy development measures and the Trump-backed tax and spending law. Begich holds a large fundraising edge. Political analysts are split: some see a plausible path for Hill given Alaska's heavy independent registration and a national climate favoring Democrats and independents, while others call Begich's reelection all but certain under Alaska's ranked-choice general election system.

Leaders from the St. Paul Area Chamber and Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 are pushing city officials to reject a proposed "Right to Repair" policy that would let tenants make and bill landlords for certain repairs. In a joint op-ed, they argue the idea echoes past St. Paul initiatives — rent control and a medical-debt relief program — that sounded appealing but proved costly and difficult to implement, citing a sharp drop in building permits and the recent winding down of the debt-relief fund.

The authors say unresolved questions, such as liability for tenant-caused damage and protection against unscrupulous contractors, make the proposal premature. They point instead to a newly passed St. Paul ordinance allowing fines against landlords who fail to maintain code compliance, arguing it should be given time to work before pursuing further regulation. The piece frames the debate within Mayor Kaohly Her's recent budget address, which emphasized economic growth as the city's path through fiscal challenges, and calls for city leaders to prioritize growth-oriented policy over new, unproven programs.