Republicans are accusing Democrats of wanting to raise senior citizens’ taxes in a new ad campaign targeting the most important Senate races in the midterm elections.
“Alaska seniors are struggling, and Mary Peltola would make it worse,” a new ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee says of Ms. Peltola, 52, a former House lawmaker representing Alaska.
Ms. Peltola is running against two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, 61.
“Mary Peltola is choosing petty politics over good policy, opposing efforts to save seniors’ money and working to eliminate historic tax savings like ‘no tax on Social Security,’” the ad continues.
The NRSC is a campaign committee that defends Republican incumbents and targets Democratic senators. It will run similar ads in the Senate battlegrounds of North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Georgia.
In July 2025, Republicans passed a party-line budget bill, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which raised the standard deduction for taxpayers over 65, effectively offsetting taxes on Social Security benefits for most seniors.
Ms. Peltola, who represented Alaska in the House from 2022 until 2025, has been critical of the law.
“This ad from the Lower 48 is a lie,” Peltola campaign spokesperson told The Washington Times. “Dan Sullivan has repeatedly voted to jeopardize Alaska seniors’ hard-earned benefits, including voting to raise the retirement age, because he will always put his own wealth and his special interest donors ahead of Alaskans.”
The ad highlights Republicans’ larger effort to hone their midterms message on the cost of living, which is considered a vulnerability for the party nearly halfway through President Trump’s second term.
“Instead of protecting seniors’ hard-earned savings, Senate Democrats want to tax the Social Security benefits that grandparents have paid into their entire lives,” NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin told The Washington Times.
The 2026 Alaska Senate race is currently rated a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report, a political forecaster. The state has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Mark Begich’s victory in 2008.
Democrats need to net four additional seats to gain control of the chamber.
“No tax on Social Security” was a promise of Mr. Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
The deduction for seniors is set to expire at the end of 2028, setting up a future flashpoint that would occur during the term of whichever senator wins in November.
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