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Common Power Executive Director Charles Douglas joined me live from Anchorage, Alaska, in full camo, fully prepared to encounter both bears and voters during his canvassing shifts for Mary Peltola.
Common Power has deployed door knockers to a race that hasn’t been getting as much national attention as the other key Senate races, but is among the most promising. Charles said that the Alaskans he’s encountering are not used to anyone showing up at their door. That alone tells you how much has changed. A new poll has Peltola up five over Dan Sullivan, Cook Political Report still rates it a toss-up, and I would not be shocked to see that move toward Lean D before long.
The campaign Charles described is one every Democrat running in red territory should study. Peltola’s motto is fish, family, and freedom, and fish comes first for a reason. Factory trawlers scooping up everything in their path, killing other species and tearing up the seabed, are a live economic grievance in Alaska, tied directly to Native culture and to people’s livelihoods. Charles held up her literature on the stream and pointed out that the word Democrat does not appear anywhere on it. What it says instead is Peltola would “be an independent voice for Alaska.” He called it a flyer for people who hate both parties, and he’s right. Peltola has the credibility to make that claim, because Lisa Murkowski endorsed her in 2022 and 2024 before backing Sullivan this cycle.
The other half of her message is corruption, and Charles made the point that this is the through line connecting Peltola to candidates like Rob Sand in Iowa. Republicans spent decades building the argument that Washington is corrupt. Now they hold power and are doing corrupt things in plain sight, and Democrats can turn that framing around on incumbents who vote in lockstep with Trump. That’s landing with independents and even some Republicans at the doors. Peltola also declined Kamala Harris’s endorsement, which Charles called a great move. I’ll give Harris credit for how she handled it, saying candidates should do whatever they need to do to win, which is exactly the right instinct and not one I expect from Donald Trump.
A few insights from our conversation stood out. Sullivan’s sharpest attack is about veterans, over a military pay raise Peltola initially voted against because Republicans loaded it with poison pills, then voted for once it stood on its own. Charles says it’s gaining traction, and with veterans making up a significant share of Alaska’s electorate, the campaign has built canned responses right into the canvassing script. He showed us that script live, complete with a hyperlinked hotline number, and called it the most well-resourced he has ever seen.
Also, there are apparently three different Dan Sullivans in Alaska politics, one of whom endorsed another one against the third. That won’t stop being hilarious to me. And yes, I have real FOMO about not being out there, but my 3-month-old baby has other plans for me this fall.
Keep an eye out for more live streams from the ground in key battleground states ahead of the midterms. I don’t really see anyone else creating this kind of content directly from organizers and what they’re encountering at doors with voters. This gives us a window into the various campaigns, their strategies, and how they’re being received by voters.
I appreciate those of you who tuned in live and contributed so much to the conversation. This is truly the best community on Substack. If you’re just catching it now, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and smash that like button.
You can watch our full conversation above. And, as always, thank you for supporting independent media.
If you want to knock doors alongside Charles and Common Power heading into the midterms, go to commonpower.org.
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