First, we learned this last summer: Democrats found a man named Dan Sullivan, and a Democrat operative helped file his Senate candidacy paperwork against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). We knew about the plan; Joe wrote about it in May.
Nice of @nytimes to finally do some real journalism and report this blatant election meddling ONE WEEK before the midterms. Where were they MONTHS ago when Townhall broke the news that Mary Peltola's campaign was trying to trick Alaskans into voting for the WRONG Dan Sullivan? https://t.co/o0TF3GTy0p
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 28, 2026
Still, let's recap: Fake Sullivan claims he did this of his own volition and that he’s passionate about the issues, which probably explains why he doesn’t really campaign. It sheds light on the state’s wild election process: the top-four primary, ranked-choice voting, and the insane $100 fee to get on the statewide ballot.
And of course, we shouldn’t be surprised that this ran deeper. Democrats continue to peddle the lie of zero collusion between them and the man who shares the same name as the Republican incumbent, but we know better. It was a mad dash to find as many people named ‘Dan Sullivan’ as possible, and the coincidence is that this state is loaded with people who share that name. The Democrat candidate Mary Peltola wasn’t involved in this operation, but she was “definitely aware.” There was also chatter about creating a fake MAGA party in Alaska to siphon votes (via NYT):
BREAKING: Democrats' secret, CORRUPT plan to stack Alaska's ballot EXPOSED! https://t.co/aBQ1mfFDTq https://t.co/M9z4hWAmMk
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) October 28, 2026
BREAKING: NYT reports that operatives with Democratic Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign were behind the effort to find & recruit a candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against incumbent GOP Senator Dan S. Sullivan in an effort to confuse voters and peel votes from him. Specifically, NYT says they have reviewed text messages and documents that reveal in summer 2025, a Peltola staffer received instructions from campaign staffers to find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as possible. The staffer complied, going through voter records, and compiled a list. The operation “involved secret trips to far-flung Alaskan communities and the appearance of a mysterious Midwestern operative, who traversed the state using a fake name and made his pitch to would-be candidates over beers at brew pubs.” Per NYT: “The plan worked. This spring, a retired teacher from a tiny fishing village along the Alaska Panhandle, reachable only by air and sea, announced his candidacy for Senate. His name was Dan J. Sullivan.” https://t.co/Fh1n4fporW
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 28, 2026
In the summer of 2025, a staffer for Mary Peltola, the Alaska Democrat who was eyeing a run for Senate, received unusual instructions from top campaign aides: Find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as you can.
The staffer complied, combing through voter records to produce a list of Dan Sullivans from across the state.
This was no random request. Dan S. Sullivan is the name of the state’s Republican senator. And if the Peltola campaign or its allies could track down and persuade another Dan Sullivan to run for Senate, the confusion could cost the senator crucial votes on the state’s unusual, four-person ballot.
The plan worked. This spring, a retired teacher from a tiny fishing village along the Alaska Panhandle, reachable only by air and sea, announced his candidacy for Senate. His name was Dan J. Sullivan.
The Peltola campaign has repeatedly denied any involvement in his candidacy. But The Times has found, based on interviews and text messages, along with documents prepared for a potential lawsuit against the campaign, that not only did Ms. Peltola’s team work with people trying to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run for Senate, but the effort was much broader. The group worked to coax other would-be spoilers into the race, to dilute the incumbent’s support and help catapult the Democrat to victory.
The endeavor, which was internally called the ballot composition project, involved secret trips to far-flung Alaskan communities and the appearance of a mysterious Midwestern operative, who traversed the state using a fake name and made his pitch to would-be candidates over beers at brew pubs.
It also involved the Peltola campaign’s lawyers, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which directs the party’s campaign strategy in Senate races across the country. From Washington to Anchorage, those advisers participated in regular conversations about the effort and even considered forming a new political party to draw conservatives onto the ballot.
[…]
“Alaskan voters need to know,” said Elisa Rios, Ms. Peltola’s former campaign manager and longtime aide, who was fired amid a staff shake-up in August, and agreed to a series of interviews with The Times since then. “There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions.”
Ms. Peltola was not directly involved in the project, Ms. Rios said, but she was “definitely aware.”
The operation had impact. On Tuesday, Ms. Peltola will be the only Democrat on the ballot, facing off against the two Mr. Sullivans and a long-shot candidate named Gerald Heikes who was also recruited into the race, according to The Times’s reporting. Polls give Ms. Peltola a strong chance of winning.
[…]
The operation began in the summer of 2025 to lure potential spoiler candidates onto the state’s unusual four-person ballot, Ms. Rios said. In one early meeting, she said, aides with the D.S.C.C. introduced a veteran Democratic operative named Jerid Kurtz to Ms. Rios and Anton McParland, who at the time was Ms. Peltola’s chief of staff. Mr. Kurtz, a native of Ohio, was introduced as a specialist in secret ballot maneuvers, Ms. Rios said.
[…]
Even as the Peltola campaign and D.S.C.C. officials denied participation in the operation, the texts and documents reviewed by The Times show it involved the party’s Senate committee and its top law firm. At one point, when Peltola campaign aides toyed with an audacious idea to establish a right-wing state party that could challenge the incumbent senator, they contacted D.S.C.C. officials.
Everyone in the extremely damning @nytimes report exposing the Peltola/Democratic role in the Dans Sullivan Maneuver sure did seem to know that it would be bad if they got caught. https://t.co/YO1g6aPnYP
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) October 28, 2026
It was quite the blitz to execute in a state that is usually safe for Republicans. It’s also notoriously difficult to campaign in, and Peltola has a mixed statewide record. 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. As with these people, any principle is up for sale if it means gaining more power. Oh, and there were allegations that Peltola dropped the n-word, though that was strongly denied.
Last, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, a Republican, endorsed Sen. Sullivan against the other Democrat named Sullivan running for the Senate. You see how crazy that sounds: that was the plan. Also, how many ‘Dan Sullivans’ live in Alaska?
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