An Alaska Democrat who formerly voted against legislation defending the integrity of women’s sports and spaces has now reversed her position on the topic following a September report on her transgender stances from The Daily Wire.
“I don’t think that we should have men competing in women’s sports,” Mary Peltola said during an Alaska Chamber of Commerce debate Monday, as she distanced herself from left-wing activists pushing the topic.
“This causes a lot of feelings for people, this is a culture wars issue,” she argued. “I’m not a very good activist, I’m not a champion on one side or another of most of these culture wars, because I feel like they are a complete and total waste of our time. We have real problems, we’ve got inflation, we’ve got every sector of the economy without skilled labor, skilled workforce … the list goes on and on.”
“No, I don’t think that we should have men competing in women’s sports, but you know, on the other hand, look at the number of female Olympian athletes who have been questioned about their femininity, they’re questioned, are they even a woman,” she added. “This is just not something that is number one for me.”
Peltola did not immediately respond to a request for comment clarifying which Olympian athletes she was referring to, and whether they identify as transgender. Her flip-flop came one day after internal GOP polling showed her opponent, Nick Begich, emerging as the front-runner in the race for the Alaska congressional seat.
NRCC spokesman Ben Petersen told The Daily Wire that her reversal indicates a desperate, last-minute pitch to voters.
“Democrat Mary Peltola’s shameless flip-flopping reeks of desperation,” he said. “After cashing checks from radical groups and voting to let biological males dominate female athletes, Peltola now reverses herself — proving she’ll say anything to cling to power as polls show her losing.”
The Daily Wire reported in September that Peltola’s embrace of transgenderism could be her downfall in the upcoming election, particularly given how Alaska has taken steps to protect women’s spaces.
The Alaska Board of Education voted in August 2023 to block boys who identify as girls from playing on girls’ athletic teams, as The Daily Wire previously reported, and the Alaska House of Representatives passed a law in May 2024 banning boys from playing in girls’ sports.
The bill then went to the Alaska State Senate, where it is expected to die. But the House Republicans who voted for the bill told Alaska Public Media they were prioritizing the issue at the request of their constituents.
When Peltola initially ran for office in 2022, she danced around addressing whether men should be allowed in women’s sports.
“I need to better acquaint myself with this issue, which I believe is more complicated than some make it out to be,” Peltola told the Anchorage Daily News in August 2022. “My starting point is that sports should be fair for all students, and we must protect the rights of all students – especially those that are already subject to significant discrimination. I look forward to learning more, and focusing on the many other pressing challenges the U.S. Congress is facing.”
A year later, in 2023, she voted against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023” — legislation prohibiting school athletic programs from allowing boys who identify as girls to play in girls’ sports. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives, would have made it a violation of Title IX for federally-funded education programs to allow men in women’s athletic programs.
She also voted against Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s amendment to that legislation, which would have required a study on the effect men participating in women’s sports has on women.
Peltola went so far as to co-sponsor the far-left “Equality Act,” legislation that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prevent “discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation,” meaning that men who identify as women could not be denied access to female locker rooms, prisons, shelters, and more.
“Must Read Alaska” reported at the time that the Equality Act would apply to institutions like Anchorage’s “Downtown Hope Center,” a faith-based cold-weather shelter where women can seek refuge from the state’s extreme cold during the night.
The Daily Wire previously highlighted that Peltola has received about $6,000 from the far-left Human Rights Campaign, an organization that pushes transgender sex change hormones, surgery, and puberty blockers for children. She has also received $5,500 from Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the action arm of Planned Parenthood, which boasts of being the “second largest provider” of transgender hormones like estrogen and testosterone.
