President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews: “Mary Peltola should resign from the race. I think she should be prosecuted criminally for what she did.”
He added: “They said they didn’t do it, and they did do it, and they got caught.” Peltola, a Democrat, is running for the Alaska Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “This is voter fraud at the highest level.” In another post, he wrote that Peltola “should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done.”
Watch | US President Donald Trump said, “…This is voter fraud at the highest level and the Democrat candidate who was involved in the scheme, Mary Peltola, who said she didn’t know anything about it in court, should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted and so should the FAKE Dan Sullivan…”
@realDonaldTrump | @POTUS | @WhiteHouse
(Source: The White House / YouTube)
— United News of India (@uniindianews) October 29, 2026
The New York Times reported, based on interviews, text messages and documents, that a Peltola campaign staffer was told in summer 2025 to find Alaskans named Dan Sullivan, and that allies sought other candidates to draw votes from the incumbent.
A second Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher from a small fishing village, is on the ballot listed as Daniel J. Sullivan. Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, who was fired in August, told the Times that Peltola was “definitely aware” of the effort but not directly involved.
[NOTE: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered the state Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the alleged recruitment effort violated state law.]
Peltola, speaking in Soldotna, said in a video that Alaska reporter Matt Tunseth shared on X: “This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions. Nobody at the New York Times cares about affordability in Alaska.”
Peltola’s campaign said, per AP: “no tweet or threat from any DC politician will keep her away from that fight.”
At a rally in Soldotna today, US Senate candidate Mary Peltola said the media’s focus should be on Alaska’s high cost of living and Sen. Sullivan’s support of the war in Iran — not who is on the ballot.
“Nobody at the New York Times cares about affordability in Alaska.” https://t.co/Ptg9kEOAtH
— Matt Tunseth (@MattTunseth) October 28, 2026
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a Wednesday statement: “The DSCC is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan.”
Nate Adams, spokesperson for Sullivan’s campaign, said: “Mary Peltola, her campaign and her senior advisers colluded with the DSCC.” He accused her of “gaslighting” Alaskans.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said: “Alaskans will leave Peltola unranked on the ballot because of her dirty tricks.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said: “Two terms in Congress. Zero bills signed into law. But she found time to hunt down every Dan Sullivan in Alaska.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) called it “a direct scheme to undermine the integrity of the election.”
Peltola has called the Justice Department’s lawsuit over the Alaska results “desperate.” She said: “I have total confidence in Alaskans’ ability to know who they’re voting for.”
[NOTE: The lawsuit, filed last week at Trump’s request, asks a court to block certification of the results if votes for Dan J. Sullivan cost the incumbent the race. Nov. 3 is Election Day; Alaska uses ranked-choice voting.]
Daniel J. Sullivan, the second candidate, denied having contact with Peltola’s campaign when he announced his run in June, saying: “Zero, none, zilch.”