Mary Peltola’s affordability goals include annual tax credit for families
The former US representative said she will work to pass an expanded child tax credit and fight to ban price gouging.
Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, puts affordability at the top of the list of priority issues on her campaign website.
Peltola is one of 15 candidates hoping to unseat Sullivan. The four candidates who receive the most votes in the Aug. 18 ranked-choice nonpartisan primary will advance to the general election on Nov. 3.
The website lists six areas on which Peltola says she will focus as a member of the Senate: energy, wages, corporate corruption, supply chains and shipping costs, and housing prices.
According to her site, much of Peltola’s approach to affordability issues will consist of fighting for tax credits and cuts. The site says Peltola will support expanding oil refining in the state and streamline the permitting process for Alaska energy projects while supporting tax credits to encourage the development of alternate energy sources in solar, wind and hydropower projects. She will fight to eliminate taxes for anyone making less than $92,000 a year and taxes on Social Security benefits, it says, and provide tax incentives for companies that pay what it calls “fair wages.”
Another tax-related approach to affordability is an expansion of the child tax credit, which is currently up to $2,200 per child 17 and under and an additional $1,700 for low-income families. Peltola will fight to expand the credit to $3,600 annually per child under the age of 6 and $3,000 per child between the ages 6-17.
As a member of the House, Peltola advocated for the extension of an expanded child tax credit that had been enacted in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, saying on her social media platforms: “The expanded child tax credit reduced child poverty by over 40% and was a massive economic aid to many Alaskan families. That’s why I’m going to fight for its renewal in Congress. It’s the kind of smart, impactful policy that normal Alaskans deserve.” The expanded credit expired in 2022 and was not renewed.
In order to directly address the cost of living, the website says, Peltola will fight to ban price gouging by corporations and block grocery store mergers that result in increases in prices; fight for tax credits for some renters; support and expand Indian Housing Block Grants; push for more taxes on nonresident foreign purchases of residential real estate; and work on shipping and supply chain issues to bring down the price of consumer goods, the website says.
Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan does not list any specific approaches to affordability on his reelection campaign website, instead listing past actions: “A relentless advocate for an all-of-the-above energy strategy and the good-paying jobs and high environmental standards that support it, Dan led the fight against the Biden Administration’s disastrous war on energy,” the website says. “From passing the biggest tax cut in American history and unleashing Alaska’s energy potential, to making historic investments in our military and national defense and strengthening Alaska’s healthcare system, Dan is running for re-election to continue delivering real results for Alaska.”
In his annual address to the Alaska State Legislature in February of this year, Sullivan said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the budget bill which he voted for and President Donald Trump signed into law in 2025, “eliminated taxes on tips and overtime, making it easier for Alaskans, working Alaskans, to keep more of what they’ve earned.”
While the law increased the child tax credit from $2,000 in 2024 to $2,200 per qualifying child, it also slashed funding for Medicaid and for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which provides food assistance to more than 68,000 Alaskans, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
A Sullivan campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
A recent New York Times/Siena poll of 593 likely voters in late June put Sullivan ahead of Peltola by 2%.
