Former staffers allege Mary Peltola used racial slur repeatedly in 2024

Two former aides claim Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola used the n-word in separate 2024 episodes, charges her campaign brands an outright lie from a right-wing blog.

Two former staffers who worked in former Rep. Mary Peltola’s House office and on her campaign say the Alaska Democrat used the n-word multiple times last year, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation.

They described separate episodes in 2024 to Breitbart, which carried the account first published by the Alaska Landmine. Peltola, a Democrat now running for Senate against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), did not answer the outlet before publication.

Afterward her campaign called the story “an outright lie published by a right-wing gossip blogger” and insisted she would never use the word.

"Mary would never use this word, which is a vile slur with a painful, hateful history."

The claims land weeks after earlier coverage described a pattern of angry outbursts, a shove, and slurs across her years in office, adding fresh scrutiny to a race that could help decide control of the Senate.

Empty tables, a heated reaction, and a dinner she skipped

One episode, the first former aide said, followed an October 25, 2024, dinner meant to honor roughly 4,000 African American soldiers who helped build the Alaska-Canada Highway during World War II.

Ed Wesley, an Army veteran, former commander of American Legion Post 34, and former president of the Anchorage NAACP, promoted the event. According to the aide, Wesley pressed the campaign to buy tables and promised to fill them.

An October 18, 2024, federal campaign finance filing showed $8,000 paid to Eventbrite for tickets. Staffers said the campaign bought eight tables at $1,000 each. The tables sat mostly empty. Peltola did not attend.

When staff told her about the turnout, the aide alleged, she grew angry, called Wesley a “scammer,” and said, “I can’t believe that n****r.”

That same aide also claimed Peltola had previously used an anti-gay slur when referring to gay staffers and said the aide had grown “numb” to such language on the team.

Those accounts fit a broader set of former aides’ accusations that have dogged Peltola over workplace conduct.

Spring meeting, a son’s YouTube channel, and silence in the room

A second former staffer described a different incident in a spring 2024 campaign meeting. Opposition research had turned up a YouTube channel run by Peltola’s son, Job Nelson, featuring self-produced rap music that frequently used the n-word.

In that meeting, the staffer alleged, Peltola herself used the n-word multiple times. “It shocked everyone in the room,” the staffer said. No one confronted her, the aide added, out of fear.

"It shocked everyone in the room."

The staffers said Nelson’s channel was later deleted. The exact date and who removed it were not detailed.

Peltola’s Senate bid has already drawn other internal Democratic friction, including moves that distanced her from a Kamala Harris fundraising push ahead of the Alaska primary.

Campaign denial meets anonymous accounts

The two aides worked both in her House office and on the campaign. They spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation. No on-the-record named witnesses or recordings were presented in the report.

Peltola’s team rejected the core claim in blunt terms after the story ran.

"an outright lie published by a right-wing gossip blogger."

Similar workplace allegations have surfaced before. Separate accounts from former aides have described slurs, shoving, and profane outbursts as her statewide bid faces new pressure.

The New York Times, weeks earlier, had already reported a pattern of angry outbursts, a shove, and slurs spanning her time in office. The Landmine account added two specific 2024 episodes tied to campaign operations and the empty-table dinner.

Democratic campaigns have seen other sharp internal disputes spill into public view, including cases where figures such as Lindy Li described legal threats inside party circles.

What the record shows and what remains contested

Documented pieces include the October 18 FEC filing for the $8,000 Eventbrite payment, the October 25 dinner Peltola skipped, Wesley’s role promoting it, and the campaign’s post-publication denial. The slur allegations themselves rest on two anonymous former staffers describing separate settings, the post-dinner reaction and the spring meeting over the YouTube channel.

Precise venues for the alleged remarks, the staffers’ identities, the exact spring meeting date, and any contemporaneous recording were not provided. The campaign’s position is categorical: she did not use the word and the story is false.

Peltola is challenging Sullivan in a contest both parties are watching for its impact on the Senate. Voters now have anonymous staff accounts of racial and anti-gay slurs on one side, and a flat campaign denial on the other, layered on top of earlier reporting about outbursts and workplace conduct.

Public officials who police language in others do not get to shrug when their own former aides describe the same words used behind closed doors.