Peltola Campaign Recruited Second Dan Sullivan, Times Reports

In Juneau, Alaska, officials in the campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola worked with the party's Senate campaign arm to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to appear on the November ballot alongside the Republican incumbent of the same name, the New York Times reported Wednesday, according to The Guardian.

The newcomer, identified as Dan J Sullivan, is a retiree in south-eastern Alaska with limited political experience. He will share the ballot with two-term Republican US Senator Dan Sullivan in next week's midterm election, the Guardian reported, citing the Times investigation.

What did the Times investigation find?

The Times reporting is based on interviews with Peltola's former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, along with documents and text messages tied to the recruitment effort, according to the Guardian's account of the story. Rios, who Peltola fired in August, told the Times, "Alaskan voters need to know," though the outlet reported she later tried to retract the interview.

According to the Guardian, the Times found that Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked together to identify other Alaska residents named Dan Sullivan and encourage them to enter the race, with the apparent goal of confusing voters who intended to support the Republican incumbent.

How has the Sullivan campaign responded?

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Senator Sullivan's campaign, said the revelations confirm what Republicans have alleged for months. "Alaskans deserve the truth," Adams said, according to the Guardian. "Not one player in this operation has acted in good faith with Alaska 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."

Republicans have characterized the second candidacy as a deliberate attempt to split the incumbent senator's support by placing an identically named challenger on the ballot, the Guardian reported.

What has Peltola's campaign said?

Peltola's campaign has denied any involvement with the second Dan Sullivan's candidacy, according to the Guardian's report. The denial stands in direct conflict with the Times's findings, which the Guardian said were drawn from documents, text messages and interviews with people involved in the effort, including Peltola's own former campaign manager.

The Guardian did not report additional on-record comment from Peltola herself in response to the Times story.

What role did Trump play in amplifying the story?

Donald Trump shared a link to the Times article on Truth Social, calling it proof of "election fraud," according to the Guardian. The Guardian's report was cut off before detailing further remarks Trump made about Peltola's conduct in the race, though the president's social media post signaled the episode had drawn national political attention beyond Alaska's borders.

Why does the second Dan Sullivan matter for the outcome?

Alaska's ballot design means voters searching for "Dan Sullivan" to support the incumbent senator could instead mark the retiree's name, a risk Republicans say was the entire point of the recruitment effort, per the Guardian's account of the controversy. Democrats have not offered an alternative explanation for why a second, politically inexperienced candidate with the identical name entered the race at this particular moment, beyond the campaign's denial of direct involvement.

The dispute arrives as Peltola's own campaign has faced other disruptions; the Guardian separately reported that Peltola delayed campaign stops after a car crash, underscoring a turbulent final stretch before Alaska voters decide the Senate contest.

What happens before election day?

With the vote days away, the controversy leaves Alaska Republicans pressing for clarity on how the second Dan Sullivan's campaign came together, while Peltola's team maintains it had no hand in his decision to run. Neither side's account, as relayed by the Guardian, fully resolves the contradiction between the documented recruitment effort described by the Times and the campaign's public denial. Alaska's results next week will determine whether the ballot's unusual duplication of names affected the outcome in a race both parties consider competitive.

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