Peltola, Begich differ on federal spending, abortion and minimum wage

Alaska's two leading U.S. House candidates are offering significantly different views on the role of federal spending, a cornerstone of Alaska's economy.

Speaking to members of the Alaska Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 10 in Fairbanks, incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola promoted her support of big federal infrastructure bills that have brought billions of dollars to Alaska.

Republican challenger Nick Begich criticized that legislation and voiced concerns about the size of the federal deficit, implying that if elected he would seek to reduce federal spending.

That would be a significant change for Alaska: Federal money pays for almost half of Alaska's state budget for public services and construction; the federal government directly employs more than 16,000 people here; and many communities, including Wrangell, are constantly asking for federal funds for local projects.

Begich has received financial support from members of the Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline Republicans in the U.S. House who have occasionally driven the federal government to the brink of a shutdown as a negotiating technique in their pursuit of budget cuts.

Later in the Fairbanks debate, Begich added: "I think it's important for us to call time out once in a while and say, 'Hey, does the spending that we're incurring make sense? Should we put this on the national credit card? Should we make future generations pay for the decisions of today?'"

Begich said he doesn't believe the government should shut down, and after the debate, said he isn't sure whether he would join the Freedom Caucus, if elected.

The debate in Fairbanks was the second of three last week between the two top candidates for Alaska's U.S. House seat.

The election is one of a few toss-up races in the 435-seat House of Representatives. With the House closely divided between Republicans and Democrats, the winner of Alaska's race is seen as important to control of the House.

According to Federal Elections Commission filings, third-party groups have spent more than $11.6 million on Alaska's U.S. House race so far, the fifth highest among all House races nationwide.

The two candidates differ on Ballot Measure 1, a statewide initiative on the Nov. 5 ballot that would mandate paid sick leave, raise the minimum wage and ban employers from requiring employees to attend religious or political lectures.

Begich said he doesn't think the measure is necessary because most wages in the state are already above what Ballot Measure 1 calls for.

Peltola disagreed. "The policies that are at the core of this ballot measure are policies that I fundamentally support," she said.

During a statewide televised debate Oct. 10, Peltola declined to say whether she will vote for her party's presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Begich questioned the legitimacy of President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral win.

The debate was conducted by Alaska Public Media and Anchorage station KTUU-TV.

Biden definitively won the 2020 presidential election, but Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance have repeatedly echoed conspiracy theories about the result.

Moderators Lori Townsend and Rebecca Palsha asked Begich whether Biden legitimately won.

"He was elected president. The techniques that were used in order to get him elected, I don't think they're legitimate," Begich said.

He alleged that Google was censoring search results and "last-minute (elections) changes under the guise of the COVID emergency" could have affected the result.

Peltola faced a similarly direct question about her support for her party's presidential nominee. She was the lone member of Alaska's Democratic delegation to not vote for Harris at the party's convention this past summer.

During a July news conference, she said she wasn't sure whether she would vote for Harris in November. In the Oct. 10 debate, she was asked directly whether she will vote for Harris. She did not answer with a yes or no.

"It's a secret ballot," she said. "I think both candidates are flawed, and I don't know why I would use up any of my gas on a race I don't have any control over."

The televised debate was the first time since the August primary that Peltola and Begich were asked on a debate stage about whether they would support a federal ban on abortion.

"I absolutely do not support a ban, and I do believe in women's reproductive rights," Peltola said. "I trust women and I trust their doctors. I don't think politicians have any business being in this discussion."

She said she opposes bans at the state and federal level.

Begich said he would not support a national ban and prefers to leave the issue up to individual states. "I believe in local control, and this is something that we decide locally."

That contradicts an answer he gave in a preprimary questionnaire submitted by an anti-abortion group. In that questionnaire, Begich said he would support a national ban on abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy.

In a prerecorded video broadcast during the debate, Anchorage's Steller Secondary School student Amelia Brooks asked the candidates how they would protect schools from school shootings while also protecting Second Amendment gun rights.

Neither Begich nor Peltola advocated restrictions on firearms or ammunition.

A two-hour debate on Alaska fisheries issues was held Oct. 8 in Kodiak.

When asked how Congress should deal with climate change's effects on Alaska fisheries, Peltola discussed her support for renewable energy and Begich talked about programs to deal with eroding shorelines.

Begich and Peltola each advocated measures to reduce bycatch, the unwanted fish caught while fishing vessels target another species.

The state of Alaska has repeatedly closed or limited subsistence and sport salmon fisheries due to low salmon returns, but commercial fishing trawlers are permitted to catch significant numbers of salmon as bycatch in federally regulated fisheries, an issue that has caused conflict between fishing communities.

In September, two Kodiak trawlers accidentally caught 2,000 king salmon, hitting a federally mandated limit and closing a valuable groundfish season.

Peltola and Begich each said they support additional research and technology development to limit bycatch. While bycatch has become a target for criticism in the state, scientific research has not yet settled on it as a primary cause of Alaska's low salmon returns.

Peltola said she would support the creation of a reserved seat on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council - which regulates federal fisheries offshore - for a member of an Indigenous tribe. Begich opposes the idea.

The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com.