Mary Peltola’s campaign is pushing back against allegations that the Alaska Democrat used an anti-gay slur and physically confronted a staffer, saying recent reporting exaggerated her behavior during one of the most difficult periods of her life.
The allegations come from a New York Times investigation published Sept. 23 that interviewed nine former members of Peltola’s staff and reviewed text messages and photographs related to her time in Congress. Four former staffers told the Times they personally witnessed Peltola use an anti-gay slur during her years in office, including, in some instances, when referring to members of her own staff.
Peltola’s campaign denies that she ever used that slur.
The campaign has acknowledged that Peltola did use an ableist slur on occasion and says she regrets doing so. It disputes the broader characterization of her behavior as a pattern of mistreatment.
For LGBTQ+ readers, the allegation stands out because Peltola has also cultivated a public record that includes support for LGBTQ+ rights during her time in Congress.
What The Former Staffers Alleged
The Times report describes a congressional office where several former employees said Peltola could have explosive reactions to frustration.
One allegation centers on an incident in February 2024, when Peltola was reportedly upset that she could not locate a memo needed for a meeting. According to the Times, one former staffer said Peltola shoved an employee in the chest, causing him to fall backward. Two other former staffers reportedly heard about the incident, while text messages sent around the time were also reviewed by the newspaper.
The report also describes angry text messages and other incidents involving profanity and offensive language. The Times said former employees described Peltola yelling, sweeping papers into the air and cutting staffers out of conversations when she believed they had crossed her.
Not every former staffer interviewed by the Times described Peltola in the same way.
Paul Horner, who served as her finance director in 2022, told the newspaper: “Mary Peltola is one of the finest human beings that I’ve ever worked for.”
Tyson Fick, who advised Peltola on fishing policy, described her as “awesome and demanding” and acknowledged that she sometimes raised her voice. He also said her background working on a commercial fishing boat may have shaped how she communicated with staff.
Peltola’s Campaign Points To Grief
Peltola’s spokesperson, Harry Child, did not deny that the period in question was difficult.
Peltola lost her husband, Eugene, in a 2023 plane crash, and her mother died around the same period. She was also serving in Congress and campaigning for reelection while raising children who were grieving themselves.
“At the time of their passing, Mary was parenting kids through their own grief, serving full-time in the US House of Representatives thousands of miles from home, and running a competitive re-election campaign all while shouldering the enormous burden of grief,” Child said.
He added: “Like any person who has gone through multiple personal tragedies in the span of a few months, Mary sometimes struggled to deal with her grief. But she treats her staff with respect and care, and she maintains close positive relationships with her staff spanning her nearly 30 years in public service.”
Child also accused former staffers of exaggerating or misrepresenting isolated moments from that period.
“Exaggerating and outright lying about moments from the hardest period of her life, and falsely presenting them as a pattern of behavior, is wrong,” he said.
Why LGBTQ+ Readers Are Paying Attention
The anti-gay slur allegation is particularly notable given Peltola’s public record on LGBTQ+ issues.
During her time in the House, Peltola voted for the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, legislation requiring federal recognition of same-sex marriages and recognition of marriages performed in other states under specified circumstances.
She also opposed the 2023 Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, a bill that would have prohibited federally funded schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate in women’s sports based on gender identity. The House passed the measure 219-203, with Peltola voting against it.
Peltola has also appeared at LGBTQ+ events in Alaska. In 2025, she served as a grand marshal of the Anchorage Pride Parade and Festival, according to LGBTQ+ Nation’s reporting on her record.
That public record does not resolve the allegations made by former employees, nor does it establish that the disputed slur was used. It does, however, explain why the accusations have drawn particular attention from LGBTQ+ media and readers.
A Senate Race Now Under A Brighter Spotlight
The controversy arrives as Peltola campaigns for the U.S. Senate in Alaska against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Sullivan has criticized the behavior described in the Times report, calling it “sad” and “disturbing.”
Peltola launched her Senate campaign in January, presenting herself as a lifelong Alaskan focused on “fish, family, and freedom.” Her campaign has continued emphasizing her Alaska roots and bipartisan approach.
For now, the central dispute is not complicated: former staffers have described behavior they say they personally witnessed, while Peltola’s campaign says key allegations are false or exaggerated and argues that grief and the pressures of public office shaped some of the incidents being discussed.
The anti-gay slur allegation remains specifically disputed by the campaign. The Times’ reporting, meanwhile, has put renewed attention on how Peltola treated employees behind the scenes, a very different part of her public life from the one Alaska voters have seen on the campaign trail and at LGBTQ+ events.