Peltola Campaign Tied to Alaska Ballot Strategy

One retired teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, is about to share a name with the state's incumbent U.S. Senator on Tuesday's ballot. Dan J. Sullivan, a left-leaning voter and former educator, is running against Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican senator who has held the seat since 2015. A new investigation reveals that a covert operation helped place the former on the ballot to split the right-leaning vote.

The scheme, internally known as the ballot composition project, began in the summer of 2025. According to the report, a staffer for Mary Peltola, the Democratic challenger, was tasked with scanning state voter rolls to find every Alaskan named Dan Sullivan. The team then approached these individuals to gauge their interest in running for office. The effort involved aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, top campaign advisors, and party lawyers.

Jerid Kurtz, a Democratic operative, played a central role in the recruitment drive. He traveled across the state using aliases, including Zane, to meet potential candidates in local pubs and diners. The operatives offered outside financial backing to conservative and independent candidates who might appeal to Republican voters. This strategy aimed to peel votes away from the incumbent rather than relying solely on the Democratic ticket.

The plan also targeted other potential spoilers. Operatives successfully pressured progressive candidate David Leslie to drop out of the race. This move cleared the path for Gerald Heikes, a drywall contractor, to claim the fourth spot on Alaska's ranked-choice ballot. The campaign also considered creating a third-party MAGA party to siphon votes from the incumbent but abandoned that idea in May.

Elisa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager, told The New York Times that while Peltola did not directly orchestrate the project, she was definitely aware of it. Rios, who was fired in August, stated that Alaskan voters need to know the full picture before making their decisions. She attempted to retract her comments before publication, but the newspaper noted that her initial interviews were corroborated by text messages and internal documents.

Jacquelyn Lopez, an attorney with Elias Law Group, was looped into discussions regarding the third-party strategy. The firm represents both the DSCC and Peltola's campaign. Internal messages showed staff asking whether they needed to follow up with Lopez about MAGA party stuff. Another message noted that Lopez was in touch with Kurtz regarding field operations.

President Donald Trump reacted to the news with a series of posts on Truth Social. He argued that Peltola should not be allowed to keep her name on the ballot, calling the instance election fraud. He claimed the Democrats found a man named Dan Sullivan, put him on the ballot, and then lied to the court about their knowledge. He added that both Peltola and the fake Dan Sullivan should be removed from the race.

Peltola's campaign stated in a release that it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race. The DSCC echoed this stance, saying it had no role in recruiting the Republican candidates. A DSCC spokesperson pointed to Republican efforts to recruit candidates, including a prisoner with a New York address and an Arizona resident in the Senate race.

The White House communications director, Steven Cheung, posted on X that the Democrats' secret plan to stack Alaska's ballot had been exposed. The report arrives just days before Election Day. A Justice Department lawsuit is seeking to block the certification of the election if the incumbent loses due to voter confusion over the two identical names.

Under Alaska's four-person general election system, Peltola enters Tuesday as the sole Democrat. She faces off against Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Gerald Heikes on the ranked-choice ballot.