Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola delivered a forceful rebuttal on Friday against allegations that her campaign played a role in recruiting a rival candidate who shares the name of incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Speaking before approximately 300 supporters gathered at a campaign rally held inside an airplane hangar, Peltola declared that she is “deeply offended” by the accusations.
Peltola dismissed the claims surrounding the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. as politically motivated attacks, arguing that encouraging additional candidates to enter the race directly contradicts her own campaign interests.
“I am so deeply offended by these accusations about having any involvement with anyone else’s candidacy,” Peltola said during the rally. “Of course I want fewer candidates in the primary. I’m not out soliciting more competition. In 2022 I was in a field of 48 and I still beat Santa Claus and Sarah Palin. I do not need any help winning this race except by all of you in this room and the massive amounts of support we have across the state.”
Peltola’s public denial comes amid mounting legal and political pressure over the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on Alaska’s ranked-choice general election ballot.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice expanded its federal legal challenge against Alaska election officials, submitting an amended 21-page complaint in U.S. District Court. The filing seeks to block certification of November’s Senate race in the event that the namesake candidate influences the final outcome.
The revised complaint names the State of Alaska, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, local election boards, and the State Ballot Counting Review Board as defendants. Federal prosecutors allege that Democratic operatives working on Peltola’s behalf orchestrated a scheme referred to as the “Ballot Composition Project,” through which they recruited Daniel J. Sullivan to run as a Republican candidate with the explicit intention of drawing votes away from the two-term incumbent senator.
The Justice Department cited investigative reporting and internal communications as evidence that operatives coordinated to place him on the ballot in order to divide the conservative vote. Federal prosecutors also noted that Peltola’s campaign committee had previously denied any knowledge of the arrangement in court pleadings.
Reporting from The New York Times revealed that campaign staff searched state voter rolls to identify Alaska residents named Dan Sullivan before ultimately selecting Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher residing in Petersburg.
The updated federal complaint further highlighted earlier administrative findings from Director Beecher, who determined on June 15 that Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy paperwork was not filed in good faith for the purpose of pursuing an actual Senate seat. Beecher concluded that the filing was instead designed to confuse voters and undermine ballot integrity. State officials noted that Sullivan Jr. had not previously registered as a Republican, had requested to appear on the ballot under the name “Dan Sullivan,” and had established a campaign website that closely mirrored the visual style of the incumbent’s online presence.
The Alaska Supreme Court ultimately permitted Sullivan Jr. to appear on both the August primary and November general election ballots. In the primary, he received 2.5 percent of the vote, advancing to the four-way general election alongside Peltola, Senator Dan Sullivan, and Republican candidate Gerald Heikes.
The controversy also prompted Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy to order a formal inquiry, directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the recruitment effort constituted a violation of state election laws.
“Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support,” Dunleavy said in remarks cited within the amended complaint. “Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”
Republican leaders have strongly condemned the alleged scheme. Alaska’s senior senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, issued a written statement criticizing the tactic.
“Run and win on your merits: your views, your policy ideas, and your accomplishments,” Murkowski wrote. “By contrast, recruiting candidates to manipulate the field and influence voting outcomes is simply wrong. Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign,what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and coverups and a culture of deception that belongs nowhere in our elections or among our elected officials.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune echoed those concerns during an appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” describing the situation as “unprecedented” and asserting that accountability remains forthcoming as Republicans work to defend their narrow Senate majority.
“What you’re seeing in Alaska is completely unprecedented, and this isn’t over,” Thune said. “Trying to rig an election by putting up a candidate designed solely to confuse voters is an affront to the democratic process, and there needs to be full accountability for everyone involved.”
In its updated filing, the Justice Department requests that a federal judge prohibit state officials from certifying any Senate result in which Senator Dan Sullivan loses by a margin that would have been reversed had votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been credited to the incumbent under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.
Peltola urged supporters on Friday to disregard what she described as “the smear campaigns and the garbage and the hollow accusations,” emphasizing that voter turnout during the campaign’s final days will ultimately determine the election’s outcome.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
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