Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola almost missed her opportunity to represent Alaska: A few days before the deadline to declare her candidacy in the special election to fill the late Rep. Don Young's seat, she was undecided whether she'd run.

The night before making her decision, her father called. "He said, 'I know that this is your decision. I just want to say one thing. You are as well positioned as anyone in Alaska to run for this and win this seat,'" she told Insider.

Her dad's words were imperative, she said, because there were people who didn't take her candidacy seriously. "There are so many reasons not to do something and oftentimes there's more reason not to do something than to do something. So to have that kind of encouragement was really critical for me," she said.