Report: Mary Peltola Was Aware of Scheme to Draft Spoiler Candidate with Dan Sullivan’s Name — and Her Campaign Lawyers Were Involved

Democrats in Alaska reportedly created a plan to find a second candidate, also called Dan Sullivan, as Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan (R-AK) and Alaska Democrat U.S. Senate candidate and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) face off against each other.

While Peltola’s campaign “has repeatedly denied any involvement” in Daniel J. Sullivan announcing his candidacy, a report from the New York Times revealed that “interviews and text messages, along with documents prepared for a potential lawsuit” showed that Peltola’s team was involved “with people trying to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run.”

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a get out the vote event held at farm in Palmer, Alaska, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

According to the outlet, the effort to find a second Dan Sullivan candidate to go on the ballot was reportedly “internally called the ballot composition project” which “involved the Peltola’s campaign’s lawyers, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee”:

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’s 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.

Elisa Rios, who previously worked as a campaign manager for Peltola, told the outlet during a “series of interviews,” that people in Alaska “need to know.” Rios also clarified to the outlet that while Peltola “was not directly involved in the project,” she was “definitely aware” of it.

“There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions,” Rios said.

The report from the outlet comes as the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) “is seeking to preemptively block certification of” Alaska’s U.S. Senate race if the state certifies the results “tainted by the inclusion” of the second Dan Sullivan, Breitbart News’s Matt Mercer reported. Along with Peltola, and the two Dan Sullivans, another candidate, Gerald Heikes will appear on the ballot.

The second Dan Sullivan, who is described as being liberal, previously told the New York Times he has “voted for the Democrat nominee in the last three presidential elections and did not vote for the senator in his previous two campaigns.”