2026-11-05 · contested story
Report alleges Peltola allies recruited second Dan Sullivan for Alaska ballot
In the summer of 2025, operatives aligned with Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola allegedly launched what was internally dubbed the 'ballot composition project' — an effort to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan (a retired Petersburg schoolteacher, Dan J. Sullivan) to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, in hopes of siphoning votes via Alaska's four-person, ranked-choice ballot. The New York Times broke the story on October 28, 2026, based on interviews with 12 people, text messages, and documents, with former Peltola campaign manager Elisa Rios saying Peltola was 'definitely aware' though not directly involved. President Trump's DOJ had already sued to block certification if Sullivan lost; after the Times report, Trump called for Peltola's prosecution, Alaska's Republican governor ordered a probe, and the FBI began interviewing donors. A federal judge dismissed the DOJ suit on November 2 as 'infeasible.'
How each side frames it
left
"The president is demanding that a Democratic candidate be removed from ballots less than a week before Election Day."
"While not a particularly honorable campaign tactic, recruiting a candidate with a confusing name is not a crime."
"the stupid stunt of some campaign staffers could lead to a virtual coup affecting control of the United States Senate."
"It is designed to win the press release rather than the litigation."
"the lawsuit is a nullity, wrapped in an absurdity, inside a press release."
center
"Ballot-stacking tactics are common in politics and generally considered legal — and have been employed by both parties in Alaska."
"What Peltola’s campaign (allegedly) did might be partisan skullduggery, but it is probably not illegal, and no one is getting kicked off the ballot or going to prison over it."
"“I’d say that there’s less than a 1% chance of Decoy Dan being a spoiler” if Republicans rank their preferences, John said."
"the partisan response to ballot-stacking allegations is worse than ballot-stacking"
"Trump may be right about the Democrats’ dirty Dan Sullivan tricks"
right
"The campaign for Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola actively participated in an effort to peel votes away from incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by recruiting namesake and spoiler candidates"
"The questionable candidate later advanced to the general election."
"Marc Elias, who peddled the infamous Steele Dossier in the hoax, again stands in the shadows of another scandal"
"The legacy media has been tying itself in knots over the explosive Alaska ballot scandal"
"In this election cycle it has produced not just embarrassment but straightforward rigging in the form of the “Decoy Dan” spectacle."
What each side left out
The right left out — covered by the Votebeat & FactCheck.org & Reason & ABC News
- Ranked-choice voting likely neutralizes the scheme's impact since confused voters can rank both Sullivans
- Peltola won the primary by a margin far exceeding Dan J. Sullivan's vote share (48% to 2%)
The right left out — covered by the Reason & Independent & Sky News & NPR
- The DOJ lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge as 'infeasible' and legally baseless per election-law experts
- FBI-interviewed donors said they were not misled
The left left out — covered by the Fox News & Snopes & The Center Square & FactCheck.org
- The specific detail that Dan J. Sullivan switched his voter registration to Republican just two days before filing, and tried to be listed with the incumbent's middle initial 'S'
- Internal DSCC 'heart emoji' reactions and 'MAGA party' texts
The left left out — covered by the Fox News & Jerusalem Post & The National Desk
- Full detail of the recruitment operation — Jerid Kurtz's aliases, brew-pub pitches, and the broader effort to recruit Heikes and push Leslie out
The center left out — covered by the The New Republic & The Daily Beast
- The partisan commentary dimension — that Trump's threat may lay groundwork to refuse to seat Peltola even if she wins
What's actually true?
[verified] The NYT reported that Peltola's campaign and DSCC aides worked with operatives to recruit Dan J. Sullivan and other spoiler candidates in an effort internally called the 'ballot composition project.'
[verified] Ballot-stacking tactics are common, generally considered legal, and have been employed by both parties in Alaska — including Republicans backing a NY prisoner as a Democrat on Peltola's 2024 House ballot.
[verified] A federal judge (Sharon Gleason, Obama appointee) dismissed the DOJ lawsuit seeking to block certification, calling the proposed remedy 'infeasible' and noting it would violate ballot secrecy.
[verified] Dan J. Sullivan won about 2.4-2.5% of the primary vote, while Peltola won about 48-49.5% and incumbent Sullivan about 41-43%.
[verified] The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that Dan J. Sullivan could remain on the ballot, overturning the Division of Elections' attempt to disqualify him for not filing in 'good faith.'
[verified] A pro-Peltola super PAC (49th State PAC) paid about $87,000 to Wingspan Strategies, a firm co-owned by operative Jerid Kurtz; the PAC denied ever hiring or paying Kurtz personally.
[verified] Elisa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager fired in August, told the NYT Peltola was not directly involved but was 'definitely aware,' then attempted to retract her statements before publication.
[verified] Dan J. Sullivan has repeatedly and consistently denied coordinating with Democrats, saying in June he had 'Zero, none, zilch' contact with Peltola's campaign.
The narrative clash
Whether the second Dan Sullivan could actually change the election outcome
Left: the extra Dan Sullivan may have robbed the incumbent of primary votes, keeping him well down in seccond place. But the other feature of Alaska’s system, its use of Ranked Choice Voting in general elections, could offer a potential cure
Right: There’s a very real chance that this fake candidate, who filed his candidacy in bad faith for the purpose of deceiving voters, who shouldn’t even be allowed on the ballot, will garner just enough votes in the general election to hand the victory to Peltola.
Whether the Democratic tactic constitutes a crime or 'election fraud'
Left: The plan itself is not considered illegal under national election law.
Right: The Democrats cheated! ... That’s perjury. She shouldn’t be allowed to run, and neither should the FAKE Dan Sullivan!
Whether voters are genuinely confused by the ballot
Left: “Oh, absolutely,” the voter replied, looking at the ballot paper. “You’ve got Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and then you have Sullivan Dan, who’s a registered Republican and incumbent.” “And I don’t even have my glasses on,”
Right: You need about 190 IQ to figure out the ballot... Most people don't know in Alaska, in a lot of other states too, what does incumbent mean?
Legality — crime or legal hardball
Left: Recruiting a same-name spoiler is sleazy but lawful, and no one will be removed from a ballot or prosecuted over it.
Right: It is not mere embarrassment but outright election rigging.
Effect on the race — did the decoy actually move votes
Left: Ranked-choice voting neutralizes the spoiler, so the stunt was close to inert.
Right: The whole point was to peel real votes off the incumbent, and it worked well enough to put the decoy on the general-election ballot.
105 sources analyzed
The New Republic Inquirer.com RealClearPolitics New York Post Fox News The Daily Beast CNN The Jerusalem Post Boston Herald The Federalist Common Dreams USA Today Balls and Strikes Reason Fox News New York Magazine PBS NewsHour The Independent Reason WORLD News Group Mother Jones The Guardian MS NOW Boston Herald The Federalist Mother Jones The Washington Post ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation New York Post The Federalist HuffPost Global News Poynter The Center Square Newsmax The Daily Beast CNN Snopes.com Reason Fox News The New Republic NPR Cleveland.com Reason Magazine Fox News Salon Sky News Durango Herald Boston Herald City Journal Salon The Washington Post TV Insider Reason City Journal Salon CBC The Times New York Post The National Desk Vox NPR FactCheck.org The Center Square The Federalist The New Republic USA Today The Free Press Boston Herald City Journal The New Republic Semafor Bloomberg.com The Center Square National Review Salon Politico Jefferson City News Tribune The Dispatch National Review The New Republic CNN Votebeat The Dispatch Fox News Mother Jones The Washington Post Reporting From Alaska Orange County Register Washington Examiner The Daily Beast PBS Time Magazine The Dispatch City Journal Common Dreams PBS NewsHour BBC Investor's Business Daily The Daily Signal Salon.com The Independent ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos The Telegraph National Review