US President Donald Trump has called for legal and political consequences for Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola over allegations that Democratic operatives helped recruit a Republican candidate with a name similar to that of incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska.
The controversy follows an investigation by The New York Times, which reported that Peltola’s campaign team allegedly worked with Democratic operatives to identify potential candidates who could split the Republican vote in the closely contested 2026 Senate race.
Sullivan is seeking re-election against Peltola, a former member of the US House of Representatives. However, two other Republicans, Gerald Heikes and Daniel J. Sullivan, are also contesting the seat, raising concerns among Republicans about possible voter confusion.
Alaska operates a ranked-choice voting system in which candidates compete in a single primary, with the four candidates receiving the most votes advancing to the general election. If no candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the votes, the candidate with the lowest tally is eliminated, and their supporters’ next preferences are redistributed. The process continues until a candidate obtains a majority.
Republicans have argued that Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy could divert votes from the incumbent and improve Peltola’s chances of winning. The US Department of Justice has also filed a lawsuit against Alaska election officials over the matter.
What The Investigation Revealed
According to The New York Times, interviews, text messages, and documents prepared for a possible lawsuit suggested that people connected to Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee explored recruiting candidates who could affect the outcome of the race.
The report said the alleged effort began in 2025, when Democratic aides were asked to compile a list of people named Dan Sullivan who lived in Alaska. Daniel J. Sullivan, who reportedly opposes Trump, later expressed interest in entering the race and filed the necessary paperwork in May 2026.
The report also cited Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios. The newspaper said Rios sought to withdraw previous statements she had made, although it maintained that her interviews were consistent with other findings.
Both Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied involvement in recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan.
Attempts by Republicans to remove him from the ballot were unsuccessful.
The practice of supporting candidates who could weaken an opponent is not exclusive to Democrats. Earlier in the election cycle, the Anchorage Daily News reported that conservative groups spent money supporting Richard Grayson, a Green Party candidate contesting the Senate seat. In Ohio, a Republican-aligned group was also alleged to have distributed campaign materials promoting a socialist candidate.
Richard Briffault, a law professor at Columbia University, told Newsweek that the report did not establish a basis for federal intervention in Alaska’s election administration.
He said the matter remained one for the state to handle, adding that although the allegations could influence voters’ decisions, they should not determine how the election is conducted.
Democrats And Republicans Trade Accusations
A spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denied that the organisation had any involvement with Daniel J. Sullivan.
“The DSCC is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan,” the spokesperson told Newsweek.
The spokesperson also accused Republicans of previously supporting candidates they believed could improve their electoral prospects, citing efforts involving candidates linked to Peltola’s own race.
Meanwhile, Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Senator Sullivan, said Alaskans deserved the truth and accused Peltola and Democratic operatives of attempting to mislead voters.
“Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along. We always knew this was a concerted effort to deceive Alaskans, and Mary Peltola was hoping it would stay covered up until after the election,” Adams said.
Peltola’s campaign rejected the allegations, maintaining that it had no connection to either Sullivan campaign.
“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC,” the campaign told Newsweek.
In its response to The New York Times, the campaign reiterated that it had “no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race.”
Trump Demands Legal Consequences
Trump weighed in on the controversy on Wednesday through a post on Truth Social, accusing Democrats of attempting to “defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election.”
He further alleged that Democrats had made false statements under oath in federal court, arguing that those involved should face serious consequences.
“Therefore, they perjured themselves, and should be liable for very serious consequences. Mary Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done,” Trump wrote.
The president repeated his demand during a rally in Ohio, calling for Peltola to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted alongside Daniel J. Sullivan.
“Peltola should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, and so should the fake Dan Sullivan,” he told the crowd.
Trump had also told reporters on Friday that he instructed the Justice Department to sue Alaska over the Senate contest.
He questioned Daniel J. Sullivan’s decision to enter the race and referred to him as the “fake” candidate, while alleging that the challenger wanted to change his middle initial to “S”.
Why The Justice Department Took Legal Action
The Justice Department’s lawsuit focuses on Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy and its possible effect on the election result.
In its filing, the department argued that the “sole purpose” of his candidacy was to “benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan.”
The government is seeking measures that could prevent certification of the election results under specific circumstances. Its request would apply if the incumbent loses and would have won had votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan instead been counted for the sitting senator, with Alaska’s ranked-choice voting process then applied.
The lawsuit also seeks an investigation into whether voters who selected Daniel J. Sullivan intended to vote for the incumbent and proposes further procedures to establish what the outcome might have been without the alleged confusion.
US District Judge Sharon L. Gleason imposed an emergency schedule on Monday to speed up proceedings. She also agreed to expedite consideration of Peltola’s campaign’s request to intervene in the case. The League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause also joined the motion seeking an accelerated process.
Alaska election officials, however, have defended their handling of the ballot.
They said they had designed it to distinguish between the two candidates as clearly as possible by including their initials, the “Jr.” designation associated with the challenger, and information identifying the incumbent senator’s party affiliation and status.
In a court filing, the election board argued that the federal government lacked legal authority to determine how candidates qualified for state election ballots, except where constitutional requirements applied. It also challenged the government’s interest in securing a particular electoral outcome.
Polls Show Closely Contested Race
The legal dispute has emerged as Alaska’s Senate contest remains highly competitive ahead of Election Day.
RealClearPolitics’ polling average showed Peltola leading Sullivan by 1.2 percentage points on Wednesday, less than a week before voters were due to cast their ballots.
A Data for Progress poll conducted between October 8 and 16 among 675 likely voters gave Peltola a two-point advantage in the final round of ranked-choice voting, with 51 per cent against Sullivan’s 49 per cent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted between October 9 and 10 among 1,200 likely voters also showed Peltola ahead by two points, at 50 per cent to 48 per cent. Its margin of error was plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
A separate poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena University between September 24 and October 1 gave Peltola a seven-point lead, with 50 per cent against Sullivan’s 43 per cent. The survey involved 504 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 percentage points.
Polling in Alaska can be challenging because of the state’s vast territory and rural communities. Although the state has generally favoured Republicans in presidential elections, its political landscape also includes independent voters and cross-party cooperation. Its state Senate, for instance, has a governing coalition comprising Democrats and moderate Republicans.
Republican presidential candidates have continued to win Alaska, although their margins have varied over the years. Trump carried the state by 13 points in 2024, 10 points in 2020 and 15 points in 2016. Republicans won by 14 points in 2012, nearly 22 points in 2008, 26 points in 2004 and 31 points in 2000.
With the election approaching, the allegations, competing denials and ongoing court proceedings have added another layer of uncertainty to a race that could help determine which party controls the US Senate.
