The New York Times reported on Wednesday that aides to Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Alaska, worked with party operatives on a secret effort to stack the state’s ballot with spoiler candidates, including a second candidate named Dan Sullivan.
Dan S. Sullivan is the state’s Republican senator, and he is seeking re-election. The Times said the plan, called the ballot composition project, aimed to split his support on Alaska’s unusual four-person general election ballot.
The effort began in the summer of 2025, according to the Times. A Peltola campaign staffer received instructions to find as many Alaskans named Dan Sullivan as possible, and the staffer searched voter records to build a list.
This spring, a retired teacher from Petersburg, a small fishing village on the Alaska Panhandle, entered the Senate race. His name was Dan J. Sullivan. The general election ballot now lists the incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, Peltola, Dan J. Sullivan and long-shot candidate Gerald Heikes.
The Times based its account on interviews with 12 people over two months, dozens of text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit. It said a Democratic operative named Jerid Kurtz travelled to Alaskan communities under a false name and pitched would-be candidates over drinks at brew pubs.
Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, told the Times that Peltola knew about the effort but was not directly involved. Rios later retracted her statements before publication. Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denied recruiting candidates into the race.
Ballot-stacking tactics are common in American politics and generally considered legal, the Times noted, and both parties have used them in Alaska.
Source: Reuters
