Vice President JD Vance took his wife and two of their four children, including infant son Alec, to Alaska to campaign for incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, who is being challenged by former U.S. Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK).
At a rally for Sullivan at Fairbanks International Airport, Vance criticized Peltola for her performance as a congresswoman, saying: “She couldn’t be bothered to show up for one in five votes.”
Vance added, “I was a senator for all of two years. It’s not that hard of a job. You show up. You fight for your people. At a bare minimum, just show up and cast your vote.”
Vance compared Peltola to a student in school and said, “Imagine if you didn’t even show up for class one in five days. You would fail, and that’s exactly what Mary has been, a failure for the state of Alaska.”
Vance: I was a senator for all of 2 years. It’s not that hard of a job. Just show up and cast your vote. If you didn’t even show up for class 1 in 5 days… you would fail, and that’s exactly what Mary has been—a failure. https://t.co/7vmOVrI0SN
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 6, 2026
Peltola supporters are responding to Vance’s comments with criticism. Many noted that Peltola’s husband died in a September 2023 plane crash while she was serving in Congress, from September 2022 to January 2025. They also pointed to the approximately 11-hour trip between Anchorage and Washington.
[NOTE: Records indicate Peltola missed 235 of 1,370 congressional roll-call votes — 17.2 percent.]
Other Vance critics are bringing up the names of Republican lawmakers who have missed multiple voting opportunities, including Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-NJ) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Referring to Kean’s absenteeism, New Jersey liberal political pundit JoFromJerz, responded, “My Republican ‘congressman’ missed 144 votes this year. 144.”
[NOTE: On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that a South Korean corporation plans to invest $54 billion to export natural gas from Alaska, a project long backed by Sullivan. Trump said in the Oval Office, “He’s got my ear, and he’s had my ear for a long time on Alaska.” Trump, who referred to Sullivan as the Governor, added, “all these energy projects are all mine, and I got ’em done working with Dan Sullivan.”]
Trump did not mention Peltola, who responded to the announcement by saying “bipartisan work” she did in the state legislature and Congress helped the project advance.
Peltola said she will continue to do that work if elected to the Senate, saying of the deal: “Today’s announcement is great news for Alaska, and I appreciate President Trump’s work to unleash Alaska energy. I look forward to continuing this bipartisan work with the President as Alaska’s next United States Senator.”