Trump: Democrats’ Fake Alaska Senate Candidate Scheme ‘A Fraud on the American Public’

President Donald Trump criticized Alaska Democrats for their alleged scheme to find a second Dan Sullivan to appear on the ballot, as Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan (R-AK) and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) face-off in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump expressed that it was “A FRAUD ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.” Trump referenced a recent report from the New York Times in which the outlet shared that “interviews and text messages, along with documents prepared for a potential lawsuit” showed that people on Peltola’s campaign were involved in an effort that tried “to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run.”

According to the outlet, while Peltola’s campaign “has repeatedly denied any involvement” in Daniel J. Sullivan entering the race, the effort to find a second Dan Sullivan “involved the Peltola campaign’s lawyers, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee”:

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 raw conservatives onto the ballot.

“It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan to run against our distinguished Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan, in order to defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election, thereby taking votes away from the REAL Senator, Dan Sullivan,” Trump said. “The New York Times reports that, ‘Democrats have insisted they have nothing to do with the other Dan Sullvan on Alaska’s Senate ballot. But aides with the Mary Peltola campaign and DSCC were part of a monthslong secret plan to recruit him to run — as well as other candidates.’”

“The Democrats’ false statements were made under oath in Federal Court,” Trump continued. “Therefore, they perjured themselves, and should be liable for very serious consequences. Mary Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done, A FRAUD ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, and Dan Sullivan should be allowed to run without either Mary Peltola or FAKE Dan Sullivan on the Ballot.”

In another post on Truth Social, Trump expressed that Peltola “after perpetrating such a terrible scheme, should be allowed to run, because this is ELECTION FRAUD.”

“The Democrats cheated! They found a man named Dan Sullivan, put him on the Ballot, then lied to the Court, and said they didn’t know anything about it,” Trump said. “That’s perjury. She shouldn’t be allowed to run, and neither should the FAKE Dan Sullivan!”

Political journalist Mark Halperin expressed that he believes the report from the New York Times “will impact the race.”

“Extraordinarily great writing too,” Halperin wrote in a post on X. “Will impact the race, I believe. A lot of people seem to have reacted to being exposed by lying.”