Peltola outraises Sullivan in cash, but spending leaves gap heading into April
Mary Peltola’s fundraising numbers for the first quarter look eye-popping at first glance. Then you notice the spending line.
Peltola tops fundraising, spends big
Peltola, the former Alaska representative running to unseat Republican Sen.
Dan Sullivan, hauled in nearly $8.7 million directly into her campaign account over the first quarter.
It’s a huge figure for a state-level race, and it also means she raised about four times as much cash as Sullivan, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
But the caveat is that she didn’t just raise it—she used it. Peltola spent nearly $3 million, leaving her with $5.7 million in cash on hand. That’s still substantial, just not quite the runaway advantage the topline numbers might suggest if you stop there.
Cash on hand keeps Sullivan in the lead
Sullivan’s operation brought in $1.7 million directly to his campaign account, and he kicked off April with more than $7 million in his war chest. In other words: Peltola outraises him during the quarter, yet Sullivan has the bigger cushion as April starts.
Both campaigns are trying to frame their position as strong. The messaging in Alaska, at least so far, is basically that the race is early, the math will work out, and the money will show up where it counts—ads, organizing, and whoever needs to move fastest when the calendar flips.
On the campaign trail, Peltola also has political momentum. She has an early polling advantage and led Sullivan by 5 percentage points in a mid-March Alaska Survey Research poll. That gap, paired with her fundraising totals, is giving Democrats a reason to stay bullish.
And then there are the outside groups, which is where this race starts to look more like a national contest than a purely local one.
Democratic-aligned groups have already put more than $3 million into backing Peltola, per the tracking firm AdImpact.
On the Republican side, the Senate Leadership Fund—a top GOP super PAC—has pledged to put $15 million into defending Sullivan’s seat and has already placed millions of dollars in ad buys.
In a cramped campaign office, someone’s printer probably keeps running, the paper fluttering like a small constant hiss—because once outside dollars start streaming in, both sides tend to feel the need to match intensity quickly.
Peltola’s donors are doing that on her end, and Sullivan’s backers are trying to do it faster.
The biggest implication isn’t only who raised more in the quarter; it’s who can keep pace through the next stretch without tightening their operations too early.
With both candidates arguing they’re in a strong position, what happens next will likely come down to how that cash-on-hand advantage and the outside spending translate into voter persuasion—especially as Alaska standards for a “big” race increasingly get measured against national-level expectations.
The Senate could use this outcome, and the money suggests both parties know it.
Peru runoff looms as Sánchez edges second; U.S.-Brazil crime pact shifts
Trump expands Western Hemisphere visa restrictions amid new vetting moves