Texts show Peltola team recruited second Dan Sullivan for Alaska ballot

The campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola sought to place a challenger on the Alaska ballot who shared the name of Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. Text messages obtained by The New York Times show members of Peltola's team discussing the recruitment of a second Dan Sullivan to confuse voters in the November 3 general election. The race could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

The campaign eventually selected Dan J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher from the fishing community of Petersburg. He passed the state's August open primary and now appears on the ranked-choice ballot alongside three other candidates. As of Monday, 46,204 ballots had been cast in the state.

Dan J. Sullivan has denied running at the direction of Democrats. He told The New York Times in June that he had no contact with Peltola's campaign, describing the interaction as "Zero, none, zilch." He did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday from The Associated Press.

State elections officials initially ruled Dan J. Sullivan ineligible. They argued his candidacy was filed to compromise the ballot's neutrality. The Alaska Supreme Court reversed that decision, ruling he met the constitutional requirements of age, citizenship, and residency.

President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit last week. The suit aims to halt the certification of a Peltola win if she wins, citing the presence of the second Sullivan on the ballot. On Wednesday, Trump posted on his social media site that Peltola should suffer legal and political consequences for her actions.

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan, said Alaskans deserve the truth. He accused Peltola, her campaign, and senior advisers of colluding with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and national lawyers to deceive voters. Adams stated the group deliberately recruited candidates to confuse the electorate.

Peltola's campaign issued a statement Wednesday saying it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also denied involvement. A DSCC statement said the organization is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan. The Times report noted that DSCC staffers appeared in text exchanges with the Peltola campaign discussing the recruitment.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, called the recruitment a dirty campaign trick. He said it was a good reason the Alaska Supreme Court should have removed the candidate from the ballot. Muller noted that the decision now rests with voters rather than litigation. He said the DOJ lawsuit would not be impacted by the new reporting.

The Times report relies partly on interviews with Elisa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager. Rios was fired in August during a campaign shake-up. The newspaper reported she tried to retract her comments last week. The AP attempted to reach Rios for comment but did not immediately succeed.

Sen. Sullivan is listed on the ballot as the Republican incumbent. The challenger is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. with no party affiliation. This is not the first time a candidate's presence on the Alaska ballot has been questioned. In 2024, a divided state Supreme Court allowed a federal prisoner with no apparent ties to the state to remain on the House ballot. That candidate is running again this year and is on the November 3 ballot.