Mary Peltola’s Past Support for Alaska Income Tax Contrasts With Her 2026 Tax-Cut Pledge
Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola previously backed proposals for a statewide income tax and sales tax, yet now promotes cutting taxes for most Alaskans.
Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Alaska, once supported a series of tax measures that would have imposed a 1.5% statewide income tax and a matching sales tax, expected to generate roughly $300 million and $200 million respectively. She participated in closed-door meetings in 2002 that also proposed higher gasoline, alcohol, and cruise-ship taxes. Peltola voted twice that year for the income tax, which critics said would burden middle-income earners the most.
Two years later she co-authored legislation requiring most Alaskans to add 15-20% of their federal tax bill to state taxes. Today she argues she will cut taxes for more than half of Alaskans and denounces Donald Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts as damaging, even though those cuts provided sizable refunds to middle-class filers. Her campaign also emphasizes a fishing-focused brand, though she has sponsored only one fish-related bill and missed a small percentage of votes while serving in the state House.
