Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, told Newsmax on Thursday that her focus on key issues like jobs and her staying away from personal attacks helped propel her to victory over her Republican opponent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Peltola, who is the first woman to represent Alaska in Congress and the first Alaska Native to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, told "National Report" that she is "very, very honored to be representing Alaska here in Washington, D.C.," adding that "the magic hasn't disappeared yet."
When asked about her election victory, Peltola credited her "platform of four planks," including "pro-jobs, pro-family, pro-fish, and pro-choice."
She said, "I think that those four elements really appealed to a lot of different Alaskans, a broad swath of Alaskans. I think that it also helped that I really stayed on the issues and didn't get involved in any personal attacks on any of the opponents. I think it's revealing that the person who was most positive and talking about ideas and issues got the most votes, and the person who was most negative got the fewest votes."
The congresswoman went on to comment on the recent storm that hit western Alaska and prompted Gov. Mike Dunleavy to request a federal disaster declaration for the region.
Peltola said "We are accustomed to south wind storms in the fall, that's nothing new, but to have an impact like this, to have those warm winds come in and bring all that water. And there was so much concern every time the tide was rising, and so much more relief when it would wane."
She added, "We are very, very fortunate that we have not had any loss of life. We are thankful that all the folks who are there as first responders were able to help."
The congresswoman noted that "people did a very good job trying to prepare themselves in their houses and their property," and said it's "really a miracle considering the damage" that no lives were lost.
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