Updated: November 1, 2024 Published: November 1, 2024

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and her primary Republican challenger, Nick Begich III, crisscrossed Alaska on their final route to Election Day.

Shannon Mason, a spokeswoman for the Peltola campaign, said a flight cancellation in Ketchikan Thursday morning resulted in Peltola flying to Seattle and then Anchorage so she could attend a campaign event on the Kenai Peninsula. She will be in Girdwood for a meet-and-greet on Friday and will head to Soldotna for another campaign event on Saturday.

Mason said Peltola plans to vote in Anchorage on Monday and that she will be waving signs in Anchorage on Election Day.

Political observers expect the race between Peltola and Begich to be close. The race has attracted record outside donations as Republicans and Democrats fight to form a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Begich, a businessman running for Congress for the second time, also plans to vote Monday. He is expected to wave signs in Anchorage on Monday and Tuesday.

Republican rallies are planned in Anchorage and Mat-Su on Saturday. Begich campaign manager Josh Walton said Begich may attend those rallies, but he could also be busy with media interviews.

Begich appeared on “Fox and Friends” on Thursday as part of a segment about seven U.S. House seats that Republicans believe they can flip. Meanwhile, Peltola was recently in Bethel speaking to radio station KYUK about issues in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Begich's campaign almost had its own travel backlog. Walton said they were campaigning in Fairbanks and faced “a real time crunch” when they returned to Anchorage. Begich took an earlier flight and returned just in time.

“Maybe we should have done 'Fox and Friends' from the airport or something,” Walton said.

Governor Dunleavy opposes ranked choice voting

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy spoke out against ranked-choice voting in a video posted to social media by the Alaska Republican Party on Thursday.

Alaska voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative in 2020 that introduced ranked-choice voting and open primaries in Alaska. The Nov. 5 election will ask voters whether they want to keep the system, which advocates say results in more consensus candidates being elected.

“The feedback I get from a lot of people is that they didn’t understand the process and they didn’t like the process,” Dunleavy said.

Dunleavy, a Republican, said Alaskans “know who I’m going to vote for.”

“Vote for any candidate you believe will create opportunity for Alaska, rather than socialize Alaska or limit opportunity for Alaska,” he said.

The Alaska Republican Party has supported eliminating ranked-choice voting and open primaries. The Alaska Democratic Party has supported maintaining the electoral system.

Planned Parenthood rally on Saturday

Planned Parenthood's political wing will hold a rally in Anchorage on Saturday, urging voters to support abortion and reproductive rights.

Abortion has been a top voting issue across the country this year, particularly for women under 30.

The Alaska Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that access to abortion is protected by the Privacy Clause of the state constitution. But Planned Parenthood and similar organizations have urged voters to elect candidates they say will ensure abortion access.

The rally is hosted by Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and Alaska March On. The event will take place at the corner of Seward Highway and Northern Lights Boulevard starting at 4 p.m