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Trump Calls for Peltola's Disqualification After NYT Report
Confirmed
In Short: President Trump says Mary Peltola shouldn't be allowed to run in Alaska's Senate race after The New York Times reported her campaign helped recruit a candidate named Dan Sullivan.
President Donald Trump called for Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola to be disqualified from the upcoming election after The New York Times reported that her campaign had helped recruit a candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
In a series of social media posts, Trump accused Peltola of election fraud and voter deception, stating, "I don't think Mary Peltola, after perpetrating such a terrible scheme, should be allowed to run, because this is ELECTION FRAUD."
The Times report, which relied on 12 sources, text messages, and documents, alleged that members of Peltola's campaign, lawyers, and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) had pushed for the candidacy of the second Dan Sullivan.
Former Peltola staffer Elisa Rios told the Times that Peltola was not directly involved but was aware of the recruitment effort. Rios said, “There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions.”
The report detailed an effort to find a spoiler candidate who could potentially siphon votes from Sen. Sullivan and benefit Peltola. This effort was internally referred to as the ballot composition project.
In response to the Times report, Nate Adams, campaign spokesperson for incumbent Sen. Sullivan, said that “Alaskans deserve the truth” and claimed that Peltola and her campaign “have spent months gaslighting Alaskans” in an effort to “deceive” voters.
The DSCC spokesperson wrote in a statement that “Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns,” citing an instance when Peltola ran for reelection in the House in 2024 and the state Republican Party supported an effort by a Democratic House candidate and inmate in New York federal prison to stay on the ballot.
Vice President Vance described placing a candidate on the ballot with a similar name to the incumbent as “the definition of electoral fraud.” He responded to a question about whether it was insulting that the administration appeared to suggest voters could not distinguish between the two candidates on their ballots.
The Department of Justice has already filed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses to Peltola. The lawsuit “asks the Court to preemptively nullify Alaska’s U.S. Senate election and disenfranchise Alaska voters without any legal basis whatsoever,” according to a court filing.
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume discussed the two 'Dan Sullivans' listed on an Alaska ballot and the looming potential legal battle on 'Special Report.' 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.
Attorney General Todd Blanche accused Democrats of election interference in an interview with Fox News, stating, “They are cheating. Let’s just call it what it is. They are trying to take votes away from the incumbent, not by running an election and not by running on issues, but by putting up a person with the same name so that they confuse Alaskans.”
What this adds
The Times report also detailed how operatives with Peltola’s campaign were behind an effort to find and recruit a candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against the incumbent GOP senator, potentially siphoning votes from the incumbent.
What's confirmed
- Former Peltola staffer Elisa Rios told the Times about the reported recruitment effort, saying Peltola wasn't directly involved but that she was "definitely aware."
- In a statement on Wednesday, Nate Adams, campaign spokesperson for incumbent Sen. Sullivan said that "Alaskans deserve the truth" and claimed that Peltola and her campaign "have spent months gaslighting Alaskans" in an effort to "deceive" voters.
- "Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns," a DSCC spokesperson wrote in the statement, detailing an instance when Peltola ran for reelection in the House in 2024 and the state Republican Party supported an effort by a Democratic House candidate and inmate in New York federal prison to stay on the ballot, challenging Peltola.
- "has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign."
- “Alaskan voters need to know,” Elisa Rios, a fired Peltola campaign manager, told the Times.
- October 28, 2026 / 7:52 PM EDT / CBS News President Trump said Democrat Mary Peltola "shouldn't be allowed to run" in next week's Alaska Senate race, after The New York Times reported that people aligned with Peltola's campaign helped recruit a candidate with the same first and last name as her main opponent, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
- "I don't think Mary Peltola, after perpetrating such a terrible scheme, should be allowed to run, because this is ELECTION FRAUD," the president wrote in one of several Truth Social posts about the issue.
- The New York Times reported that Peltola’s campaign recruited other candidates to run against GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.
- The Department of Justice has already filed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses to Peltola.
- Trump said Peltola shouldn’t be allowed to run after the NYT report.
What's still developing
- Sullivan's candidacy and found nothing illegal about his bid to be on the ballot -- even if it was not entirely in "good faith" or an attempt to "confuse and mislead" as the Trump administration and Republicans contend.
- "The Alaska Supreme Court ordered the Division to place Daniel J. on the primary election ballot and he advanced to the general election under Alaska law as the third-place candidate."
- The Dans Sullivan and Peltola are set to face off on Tuesday in what is expected to be one of the most competitive contests of the cycle.
- Trump, making the comments to reporters on Wednesday as he prepared to fly to Ohio, called it "voter fraud at the highest level."
- Reports of her being abusive to staff also trickled in, including claims that she called some “retarded f****s,” which frustrated Democrats and pundits, who are okay with it given the high stakes.
- Pulling COVID-19 vaccines off the market, decreasing medications for children, cleaning up water, and putting fresh food in schools are all “pro-life issues,” according to Iowa Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn.