It's been almost a week since The New York Times published a story about Democrat Mary Peltola with the headline "Angry Outbursts, Slurs and Firings: Tumult Rocks a Key Senate Campaign."
Relying in large part on interviews with unnamed former Peltola staffers and text message they provided, the story showed her as harsh on staff and having used derogatory terms.
Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin said Peltola voters seem to be sticking with her.
Listen to this interview at the link above. The following transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Liz Ruskin: I've talked to Peltola voters, my colleagues in Juneau and Bethel have talked to voters. I've read accounts in Alaska and national publications. I don't recall hearing from any voters who said this changed their vote, even if it did change their feelings about Peltola.
Here's a voter named Kirsten Roos from Willow:
"Do I think the behavior described in the article is acceptable? No, I don't. I think Peltola should hear that loud and clear. She needs to do better, but I'm still voting for her regardless of her party, because Congress has basically become a rubber stamp for the executive branch, and I want a senator who isn't afraid to cross Trump."
Casey, I should say that, even a day or two after the article came out, our colleague Evan Erickson, at KYUK in Bethel — Peltola's hometown — talked to many people who hadn't heard of the allegations. I mean, not everyone is glued to this stuff. But Evan did talk to a woman who has known Peltola for years. She believes that, as the Peltola campaign says, grief played a role here.
"We're dealing with somebody that lost her husband, lost her mom, and there's going to be some emotional strong outbursts and all that to be expected. But I really think they need to do a story about how other people treat their staff."
That was Susan Taylor in Bethel, who said she suspects a political ploy.
Casey Grove: I know some Peltola supporters suspect The New York Times had a motive in running it. Do you think the paper was trying to influence the outcome of the race?
LR: No, I don't think that. The main reporter, Kellen Browning, was in Anchorage for the August primary election. He was already covering the race when she dismissed or demoted senior campaign staff just before the primary. I think he set out to find out what was going on there, and that led to learning more about what was going on in her office when Peltola served in the U.S. House. I think good journalism requires letting the chips fall where they may.
CG: Liz, I have to ask, since you covered Peltola when she was a congresswoman: Did you know about the kind of behavior described in the Times article?
LR: I'd heard. As a subsequent New York Times story said, it was an open secret. I did a story in 2024 saying that she had the 2nd highest staff turnover in the House. I talked to former staffers who I could tell were upset by what they experienced, but when I asked them, I didn't get accounts that really conveyed a problem beyond "she yells at staff."
To really get into it, you'd have to do what the Times did and invest a lot of time, and rely on anonymous sources. Alaska Public Media generally doesn't rely on anonymous sources, not as the basis of an article.
Also, I had heard about Meatball the chameleon and something about feeding him crickets. But the staffer telling me about it seemed amused and it wasn't a complaint at the time.
CG: We should probably note, too, that the Times followed up with a story putting Peltola's crass comments into context, the context being that for many years Alaska was represented in the U.S. House by Don Young and in the Senate by Ted Stevens, known for foul language and gruffness, respectively.
LR: Yes, and I've heard from people who say there's a double standard here for women who are bosses, saying "Why wasn't it a story when Don Young lashed out." Well, it WAS a story. A lot of Young's misbehavior was out in public and a more obvious story, and that was a story.
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