The Republican candidate for Alaska’s only US House seat is going deep-sea fishing for his biggest celebrity endorsement.
Nick Begich III appeared with stars of the TV show “Deadliest Catch” in a new ad out Tuesday, after fresh polls showed him leading Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola
The ad, titled “Attack,” features the Time Bandit boat made famous by the hit Discovery Channel show.
“It’s hard to make ends meet when [President] Biden’s policies are sending prices soaring,” says Time Bandit deck hand and crabber Russell Newberry, a cast member for more than 40 episodes.
“And the Democrats’ solution?” asks fellow crabber Dino Sutherland of Nat Geo WILD’s “Alaska Fish Wars”. “Make it hard to fish, hunt and find good jobs.”
The pair also accuse the Harris-Biden administration of “attacking our livelihoods” and those of Alaskan workers on oil rigs after the White House banned drilling in nearly half of the state this past April.
Both crabbers say they are ready to “move on” from Peltola and back Begich, praising his “common-sense conservative” outlook.
The race is a rematch after Peltola beat Begich in an August 2022 special election.
A poll commissioned by the National Republican Congressional Committee and released last week shows Begich out in front of Peltola, 44% to 40%.
“When taking Alaska’s ranked-choice redistribution methods into account, Begich maintains his lead after every recalculation scenario,” reads the American Viewpoint memo, which was first reported by Politico. “If undecided voters are excluded, Begich would attain a majority on the first-choice ballot.”
The House race is also rated “toss-up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Alaska allows voters to rank all candidates and proposals on a ballot in order of their preference, with the lowest vote-getters eliminated and their supporters’ second choices redistributed until a majority is attained.
The late GOP Rep. Don Young had represented Alaska from 1972 until his death at age 88 in March 2022, making him the longest-serving GOP lawmaker in the history of the House of Representatives.
Peltola suffered a similar tragedy in September 2023, when her husband, Eugene, 57, was killed in a plane crash while carrying more than 500 pounds of moose and antlers back from a remote hunting camp.
The Democrat defeated both Begich and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the special election race two years ago, making her the first Democrat to rep the Last Frontier in half a century, and the first Alaska Native to hold the distinction.
