Ship day

Rural Alaska communities are getting crushed. And it’s about to get worse.

Right now, folks in rural communities all across Alaska are awaiting barges carrying the next year’s supply of fuel. It’s called ship day.

Typically, this is a happy time. We get to celebrate ships coming in to resupply our community and express gratitude to our hard working union workers for getting these supplies offloaded and on to their final destination.

But this year, many folks in the Bush are dreading these shipments – because with them comes higher prices. Because the price of fuel is set once a year, these communities haven’t yet felt the full force of the current sky-high gas prices (though they’re still paying anywhere from $5 to almost $20 a gallon in many parts of the Bush!).

With these new shipments, fuel prices might get locked in at more than $20 a gallon for the next year in some regions – crushing Alaska families in rural parts of the state. And in Alaska, this isn’t just about transportation and shipping costs – this impacts our ability to heat our homes in some of the harshest winter conditions on the planet…

Let’s be clear about why these costs are rising: My opponent, Dan Sullivan, has turned his back on Alaskans and voted a dozen times to support an endless war that’s sending fuel prices through the roof.

Earlier this week, I visited Nome, Savoonga, and Gambell. Today, I’m going to Emmonak and Alakanuk, and tomorrow I’m headed to Unalakleet. In every one of these places, and in the dozens of other rural villages I’ve visited, I’m hearing from Alaskans full of anxiety and dread over the impending shipment.

Families in the Bush already pay higher prices for nearly everything, whether it’s $17 for a gallon of milk, $75 for paper towels, or $90 for laundry detergent. Basic necessities are growing increasingly out of reach, and the situation is only getting worse.

But rather than address this crisis and fight for lower costs, politicians in DC look the other way. My opponent Dan Sullivan has repeatedly voted against lowering energy prices, and he refuses to deliver for the rural Alaskans being crushed by his failing policies.

That’s why I decided to run for Senate. Alaskans deserve better.

I know the reality of working and raising a family in the Bush because I’ve lived it. I’ve lived firsthand how the government is failing Alaskans, and I’m running for Senate to change it. It’s time to take on the rigged DC system and finally put Alaska first.

The DC establishment knows that I’m ready to take them on, which is why they’re mobilizing against me. We’re facing more than $30 million in outside spending from billionaires and corporate special interests – and trillionaire Elon Musk just announced that he’s spending at least $100 million this year to prop up entrenched, corrupt incumbents like my opponent.

I won’t back down, but we’re facing an uphill battle. That’s why, if you’re in a position to make a donation today, I would deeply appreciate your support.

With your support, we are going to win this race, fix the rigged system, lower costs, and bring abundance back to Alaska.

Thank you.

- Mary