Alaska Senate Race Between Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola Still Counting Votes

Alaska Public Media · Local

Peltola campaign and national Dems recruited spoiler candidates, including Petersburg Sullivan, according to New York Times

Twitter LinkedIn Email Bluesky The New York Times on Wednesday published a story substantiating what Republicans and the campaign of Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan have alleged for months: The other candidate on the ballot named Dan Sullivan was recruited by operatives aligned with Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. “Alaskan voters need to know,” Elisa Rios, a fired Peltola campaign manager, told the Times. “There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions.” The Times reported on secret efforts by the Peltola campaign, its lawyers and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, an arm of the national Democratic Party, to recruit Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg and other challengers, with the aim of drawing votes away from the Republican incumbent. It’s a tactic political operatives call “a ballot composition” project. The point was to dilute Republican support and advantage Peltola, according to the Times story.