Former Rep. Mary Peltola entered the Alaska Senate race on Monday, giving Democrats a major candidate recruitment win and the chance to expand the 2026 Senate map as they look for a route to the majority, according to Politico.

The Alaska Democrat’s decision is a victory for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who recruited Peltola to run against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Peltola’s brand as a moderate problem-solver and the state’s ranked-choice voting system open the door for Democrats, but it’s still a steep climb in a state President Donald Trump won by 13 percentage points in 2024.

In her announcement video, Peltola pledged to focus on “fish, family and freedom,” while also calling for term limits and putting “Alaska first.”

“Systemic change is the only way to bring down grocery costs, save our fisheries, lower energy prices and build new housing Alaskans can afford,” Peltola said. “It’s about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like.”

Peltola’s campaign creates another offensive opportunity in play for Democrats, who must flip four seats in order to retake the majority next fall. The odds are long, but Democrats have become increasingly bullish about their chances since their victories in last year’s elections. Peltola carved a moderate profile during her time in Congress, occasionally voting with Republicans on energy and immigration-related legislation.

Even so, Peltola’s decision to run Alaska presents tough sledding for any Democrat. Peltola’s 2022 wins came in large part because of a bitterly divided GOP field, and besides her victories that year, Democrats have won just one other federal race in Alaska in the last half-century.

Peltola was first elected in a September 2022 special election to replace Rep. Don Young, who served 49 years in the House and died while in office. She cited Young and former Sen. Ted Stevens, both Republicans, in her Senate announcement, who Peltola said “ignored Lower 48 partisanship to fight for things like public media and disaster relief because Alaska depends on them.”

In November 2022, Peltola won a full term, beating a divided Republican field that featured former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich. But in 2024, Peltola narrowly lost in a rematch with Begich, when the Republican Party consolidated behind him. She had also been mulling a run for governor this year, making her decision to go for the Senate a big win for Washington Democrats.

Democrats have an easier time winning if Republicans fracture between candidates in a state where ranked-choice voting means every candidate faces off against each other in the first round of voting, and Sullivan has not drawn any serious GOP challengers.

Peltola will also be without a crucial bipartisan supporter from her past races. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) immediately endorsed Sullivan on Monday, after crossing party lines to endorse Peltola in both 2022 and 2024.“We’ve had a pretty solid team here in the Senate for the past 12 years, so we want to figure out how we’re going to keep in the majority,” she told Alaska Public Media. “And Dan delivers that.”

Murkowski and Peltola go way back—they served together in the Alaska legislature starting in the late 1990s, and Peltola backed Murkowski in her 2010 write-in election general victory after she lost the GOP primary. But Murkowski and Sullivan have had a strong working relationship—she worked hard to help elect him in 2014, and he backed her in her race against a Trump-backed GOP challenger in 2022.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee jumped on Peltola’s decision immediately, popping a digital ad accusing her of wanting to “make Alaska last again” by allowing “men in women’s sports” and “open borders.” It also attacked her for her support of former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.”After voters rejected Mary Peltola’s record pushing radical transgender policies and protecting Joe Biden’s relentless attacks on Alaska energy, she immediately cashed out to lobby for special interests,” NRSC spokesman Nick Puglia said in a statement. “Voters trust Dan Sullivan to keep fighting for the Alaskan comeback and will reject Peltola again.”

Peltola was the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, and should she win this race would be the first to serve in the Senate.