- Some of Alaska Rep. Don Young's former staffers are backing Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat.
- They say she'll carry on the long-serving Republican's legacy better than Sarah Palin or Nick Begich.
Just two months after scoring an upset victory over former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a special election for the state's sole House seat, Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is about to face voters once more.
But this time, she's doing it with the public backing of several former staffers and long-time associates of Don Young, the Republican congressman who held the seat for 49 years until his death in March.
Former staff and friends have signed a letter — which was shared with Insider and released after publication on Friday — urging Alaska voters to give the congresswoman a full, two-year term, highlighting Peltola's "commitment to running a positive race, bipartisan approach to public service, and legislative priorities that put Alaska at the forefront."
Their endorsement also notes Peltola's short but productive legislative record — the Alaska Democrat has introduced 8 bills previously put forward by Young and already passed a bill tackling food security for veterans despite serving for just a few weeks — as well as her support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which the late Republican congressman backed despite pressure from party leadership and former President Donald Trump.
—The Delegation (@AKDelegation) October 21, 2022
"I think that [Young] would be supportive of her," said Meredith Kenny, a former communications director for the congressman, in an interview with Insider. "And that's enough to make my heart happy."
Equally revealing is what some staffers, who generally identify as Republican or right-leaning independents, had to say about Palin and Nick Begich III, Peltola's conservative opponents.
"Palin and Begich are really more focused on their political careers before policymaking," said Zack Brown, Young's most recent communications director, adding that supporting Peltola is about "making sure that there's an actually effective legislator in the seat."
Pamela Day, who served as Young's chief of staff until 2020, cast Palin and Begich as people who were "looking at this as an opportunity to become a loud voice amongst many other loud voices."
"I don't think she's looking for a platform to be a celebrity," Day said of Peltola.
Staffers' reservations about Palin, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee whose resignation as governor the following year has left a sour taste in many Alaskans' mouths, largely mirror broader concerns that voters have expressed about her: that she's simply seeking the spotlight.
One staffer also pointed out that Palin and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska don't exactly have the best working relationship, given the former's support of a primary challenger against the latter in 2010. When Insider asked Murkowski about Palin's upstart campaign earlier this year, she made a point of demurring and highlighting other candidates.
But it's more personal with Begich, the nephew of former Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and a one-time friend of the late congressman.
The Republican congressional candidate spent about a month in Washington last year working for Young and his staff, ostensibly for the purpose of understanding the legislative process.
But then he turned around and launched a campaign against Young in October 2021, before the congressman's death.
"It was just such an invasion of our goodwill and the Congressman's goodwill," said one staffer who requested anonymity to speak candidly. "We were completely hoodwinked and betrayed."
"I don't care for Nick Begich. From what I know of him, he is dishonest and disingenuous, and I can't support someone like that," said Kenny, who served from 2005 to 2011, long before the incident.
"I'm sure if he was the member who was elected, it would be fine," she offered.
'A lasting impression'
Peltola's surprise victory in August — a product of the former Alaska state representative's unique "pro-fish, pro-choice" campaign and the state's newly-implemented ranked-choice voting system — might have initially seemed to be a fluke.
But Young staffers noted that the long-serving Republican often took positions that clashed with the priorities of party leadership, including his relatively high support among organized labor.
And Peltola is no standard-issue Democrat; she is supportive of Alaska's oil and natural gas industry, is friendly with Palin, helped run Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski's 2010 write-in campaign, and is even explicitly declaring that she hopes to "carry on" Young's legacy.
"I think it's no coincidence that Alaska's longtime pro-weed, pro-labor congressman has now been replaced by a Democratic congresswoman who is a member of the NRA and is open to a lot of traditional energy extraction," said Brown.
Another positive attribute touted by former staffers — both in interviews with Insider and the endorsement letter — is Peltola's hiring of former Young chief of staff Alex Ortiz, which they say will "ensure continuity on Alaska's legislative priorities."
In a recent interview with Roll Call, Ortiz said that while he remained a Republican, he was personally impressed by his new boss. "I would not work for any Democrat that came down to DC," he said.
"That stands out a lot," Day said of Peltola's hiring decisions, likening it to the "lively debate and different opinions" that she said existed in Young's office. "I know that there were staff over the years that didn't agree with him on everything. I didn't agree with him on everything."
Next week, over a dozen members of "Youngworld" will hold a virtual fundraiser for Peltola, dubbing themselves "Friends of 2314" — a reference to the number of the office space on Capitol Hill now held by Peltola, and for years before her by Young.
And some are even set to appear in an upcoming television advertisement for the congresswoman.
Despite the state's long-time conservative slant, outside election watchers generally rate the upcoming election as a toss-up; Sabato's Crystal Ball even says Peltola is slightly favored to win.
Staffers also said that Young would've appreciated that Peltola is a member of the Yu'pik tribe, and that he'd expressed hope that an Alaska Native woman succeeds him in office.
"So many Alaska Native women have positions of power in the state," said Day. "And I think that made a lasting impression on him."