Peltola refuses to endorse Harris, says she’s ‘open’ to voting for Trump

Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola of Alaska will not say who she will vote for in November, after President Joe Biden stepped down and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris.

During a Zoom press conference with reporters from Alaska Tuesday morning, Peltola said she is “keeping an open mind.”

“As I look at this presidential race, my position is that whoever the president is, that’s the person I want to work with to move Alaska forward,” Peltola said. “Whether that president is Donald Trump, or whether that president happens to be Kamala Harris … there’s going to be a lot of common ground. There’s going to be a lot of things that we collectively agree on.”

Peltola was asked twice whether she would vote for Harris or Donald Trump. Peltola said her vote for president would depend on the candidates’ positions on energy issues.

“While I really appreciate her stance on women’s reproductive rights, Social Security, voting rights and a lot of other things, my main job as the representative for Alaska is to look at our economy and our energy situation and which of the two candidates is going to be better in terms of our energy portfolio,” Peltola said. “That’s an honest answer. I’m not being hypocritical.”

Peltola also suggested that Harris’ choice of a running mate could influence her decision in November.

“I would love it if she would pick a pro-abortion Republican so we could get rid of the inflammatory partisanship that we’ve seen,” she said.

Peltola told CNN earlier on Tuesday that “I support her as a person,” referring to Harris, but that I haven’t supported her that far.

Republicans have criticized the Biden administration’s actions aimed at limiting oil and gas exploration in Alaska. In April, the administration said it would impose new restrictions on oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska.

Peltola faces two Republican challengers: Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a favorite of establishment Republicans and Donald Trump, and Nick Begich III, backed by the campaign arm of the conservative, anti-establishment House Freedom Caucus.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Peltola also retracted her alleged support for Biden in 2023, shortly after Biden began his re-election campaign.

“I have never officially endorsed anyone,” she said Tuesday.

She told the Anchorage Daily News at the time that his support for the Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska had earned her vote. She said, “President Biden has impressed me with his support for Willow and his commitment to civil, constructive discussions.”

“I will support him as long as he continues to include Alaskans in those conversations,” Peltola said at the time.

However, Peltola said Tuesday that the Biden administration has not delivered on that promise.

“So much has happened in the last year, most notably 68 different ways the government has shut down Alaska’s economy,” she said, quoting a frequent quote from her colleague in Alaska’s delegation, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

Peltola, a Democrat running for re-election in a state that Donald Trump won by 10 percentage points in 2020, downplayed the significance of her endorsement, saying Alaska would not have a chance in the presidential election.

“I just think that in a state as small as Alaska, we all know each other, and I don’t think that endorsements carry the same weight as they do in a lot of other places,” she said. “And I also really believe that in a state where over 60 percent of our voters are independent, nonpartisan, undeclared, it’s really important to stay away from, you know, really entrenched partisanship.”

Peltola also said Biden had aged noticeably since the last time the two saw each other in September 2023, shortly after her husband, Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., died in a plane crash.

“I think just like kids have growth spurts, I think we have age spurts,” she said Tuesday. “It was very clear that there’s been a fair amount of aging that’s taken place over the last few months.”

Peltola praised Biden’s long career in public office.

“It reminds me very much of the lifelong dedication that Ted Stevens gave to Alaska, the lifelong dedication that Don Young gave to Alaska, and I greatly appreciate his dedication to public service,” she said.