“I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,” Democrat Mary Peltola, who is challenging Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, said at a Thursday rally in Juneau, CBS News reported. “I am not interested in tricking voters.”
Her campaign spokesperson went further: “Mary won’t be intimidated by Dunleavy, Sullivan, or any of their DC allies.”
This morning on Meet the Press, Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, called Peltola’s campaign “immoral” and “unethical” over the ballot dispute, NBC’s program said in a post.
The dispute is over a second Dan Sullivan on the Senate ballot. He is Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher with the same name as the Republican incumbent. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Democratic operatives tied to Peltola’s campaign helped recruit him, citing a former Peltola campaign manager and text messages it reviewed, per CBS.
The Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee both deny any role. The incumbent called the challenger a “sham candidate” meant to confuse voters and siphon votes from him. Daniel J. Sullivan has denied the allegations and says he is genuinely interested in running.
Trump said Peltola and “the Fake Dan Sullivan” should be taken off the ballot and prosecuted, RealClearPolitics video shows. The next day, NBC reported, he said Peltola should be prosecuted. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered a state probe into “whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted.”
[NOTE: The Justice Department has sued, arguing a Sullivan loss caused by “voter confusion” could justify blocking certification, and has issued subpoenas in a separate criminal probe. Alaska’s election officials have moved to dismiss, saying the department’s argument has “no legal basis.” The AP reports the FBI has begun contacting donors to Daniel J. Sullivan’s campaign.]
Peltola’s closing message steers elsewhere. “My closing issue is what’s on every Alaskan’s mind and has been at the forefront of this campaign since the very beginning – affordability,” she wrote on X.
[NOTE: The same-name “decoy” candidate maneuver, also known as ballot stacking, has a long history in U.S. politics. Considering the Dan Sullivan case, Cato Institute notes that the “shabby practice of recruiting decoy candidates is old hat in American politics.” CNN, in one of its stories on the Alaska election, calls it an “age-old election trick” while citing past elections featuring “three Bob Fergusons and two JFKs.”]