Liz Ruskin

Alaskans love their fish, especially salmon.

She's pitching herself as an Alaska First moderate.

Lately, her messages have been kind of anti-incumbent.

She's talking about self-dealing politicians.

And...

Yeah, she's putting some distance between herself and national Democratic figures.

And she's not directly criticizing President Trump at this moment, which, you know, you can imagine why in a Trump plus 13 state.

So she's, you know, really aiming for middle ground.

Right.

Because the same guy held it for 50 years.

Well, I think that Alaska's brand of Republican is more libertarian than religious ideology driven.

So I think that maybe it appears more purple because the Republican Party has moved ever Trumpward.

And I have to say, whenever an Alaskan runs into someone from Texas, we're contractually obligated to say that if we cut Alaska in half, Texas would be the third largest state.

I'm sorry, I just have to say that.

Well, 80 percent of Alaska's communities are off the road system.

That means you have to fly in or in a few cases you can take a ferry.

And Mary Peltola comes from one of those communities.

She comes from Bethel, which is on the Kuskokwim River.

It's a hub community where salmon has traditionally been the mainstay of the culture and the economy.

And those fish runs are in, you know, massive multi-year decline.