Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola and family suffer minor injuries in car crash; stops postponed

Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and her family sustained minor injuries when another driver struck their car on Saturday night, her campaign announced on Sunday. The former congresswoman was traveling with relatives to the Alaska Federation of Natives' annual banquet. Campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement that Peltola and her family are in good spirits. She said that on the advice of medical professionals, Peltola's scheduled events in Fairbanks and Bethel will be rescheduled for later in the week while she recovers. Those stops had been planned for Sunday and Monday, and the campaign said the rest of her tour will go on as planned. Peltola, 53, is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, and the midterm elections are a little more than a week away. Bruce said Peltola is disappointed to delay the start of her tour and is eager to return to the trail to talk with Alaskans about her plan to lower costs for working families.

Politico, the left-leaning outlet, leads with the schedule disruption, putting the postponed campaign stops in its headline. Its short excerpt gives the minor injuries to the candidate and her family and the Sunday announcement, with no further detail on the crash or the race. The Daily Mail, the right-leaning outlet, runs a much longer account. Its headline says the campaign was 'thrown into turmoil.' It names Bruce and quotes her at length, including the 'rigged system' line. It also adds Peltola's age, the Sullivan matchup, the Fairbanks and Bethel dates and the one-week countdown to the election. Both sides agree on the minor injuries, the family and the postponed events. They differ mainly in emphasis: Politico keeps to the announcement, while the Daily Mail stresses the political stakes and the campaign's own message. Straight Arrow News largely matches Politico, noting the injuries and that another driver struck the car.