Mary Peltola has tapped her deputy campaign manager, Cheryl Bruce, as campaign manager for her Alaska U.S. Senate bid as the campaign transitions into the general-election phase, the campaign confirmed in mid-August.
Campaign statements and local reporting show Cheryl Bruce, who had been deputy campaign manager since Peltola launched her Senate run, “is now campaign manager,” the Anchorage Daily News reported on Aug. 17, 2026.
The campaign framed the change as part of a transition into the general election, saying in an emailed statement that staffing updates reflect the team moving into the next phase, ADN reported. NBC News and the Juneau Independent also covered the shake-up, saying the changes came just before Alaska’s primary in mid-August.
Anton McParland, Peltola’s longtime campaign manager and former congressional chief of staff, moved into a new, unspecified role within the campaign, according to ADN and NBC News. Both outlets said McParland remains with the campaign but is no longer listed as campaign manager.
The staffing changes followed reporting that Peltola had sought to distance herself from a fundraising email tied to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s PAC, and came amid intense outside spending and a same-name controversy in the Alaska race, reporting by ADN and NBC News shows.
Mary Peltola’s campaign has outpaced Sen. Dan Sullivan in fundraising this year, the Anchorage Daily News reported, and national outlets have framed the Alaska contest as one of several competitive Senate races Democrats view as pickup opportunities. Local and national outlets noted the changes were announced as the campaign prepared for the November general election after the August primary.
Political coverage in Alaska treated the update as a managerial reshuffle rather than a public resignation. NBC News wrote that the campaign described the move as a staffing update while Republican groups seized on the timing to criticize the campaign’s stability.
Why it matters: campaign managers handle day-to-day strategy, staffing and messaging as races move from primaries to general elections. ADN and NBC News reported the switch signals Peltola’s team is reorganizing priorities for the head-to-head contest against Sen. Dan Sullivan this fall.
Sources
- Anchorage Daily News — reported Cheryl Bruce was elevated to campaign manager and that Anton McParland moved into a new role (Aug. 17, 2026).
- NBC News — covered the staff shake-up, timing around the primary and broader context about fundraising and the Alaska race (Aug. 19, 2026).
- Juneau Independent — reported on the staffing change and McParland’s replacement (Aug. 17, 2026).
Related reading: Mary Peltola to face Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska U.S. Senate race and United States Senate schedules cloture vote on Angela Colmenero nomination.
