(AFP) – US President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and a rival sharing the name of Alaska’s Republican incumbent be removed from next week’s election ballot, accusing Democrats of an illegal scheme to confuse voters. His call followed a New York Times investigation reporting that Democratic operatives had secretly recruited so-called “spoiler” candidates, including another Dan Sullivan, in an effort to draw votes away from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
“It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He accused Democrats of committing perjury by making false statements under oath in federal court and demanded that the incumbent be allowed to run without either Peltola or the “FAKE Dan Sullivan” on the ballot.
But the Times noted that recruiting candidates to split an opponent’s vote— a practice known as ballot stacking— is generally legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska. Its investigation did not establish criminal wrongdoing or substantiate Trump’s allegation of perjury. The effort involved senior aides and lawyers for Peltola, as well as officials at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), according to the newspaper, which cited interviews, dozens of text messages, and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit against the campaign.
Among those it said were recruited was Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from a remote Alaskan fishing community. He has said he entered the race of his own volition. The newspaper identified Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz as a central figure, reporting that he traveled around Alaska under an assumed name to court potential candidates. The Times said Kurtz also urged a Democrat to quit the race after the August primary, opening a place on the four-candidate ranked-choice ballot for Republican Gerald Heikes, also a recruit. Heikes told the paper he was recruited by a Midwesterner who he did not think resembled a photo of Kurtz. Kurtz did not respond to requests for comment from the Times.
Peltola’s former campaign manager Elisa Rios told the paper the candidate was “definitely aware” of the project but not directly involved, and that DSCC aides had introduced Kurtz to the campaign. Rios, who was fired in August and had been planning a wrongful termination lawsuit, later sought to retract her statements. The Times said her account was consistent with its other reporting. Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC have denied recruiting any candidates.
The revelations come days after Trump ordered the Justice Department to sue Alaska over the presence of the second Sullivan on the ballot. The lawsuit seeks to delay certification if Peltola narrowly defeats the incumbent and votes cast for his namesake could have changed the outcome. In June, Alaska’s Supreme Court upheld the retired teacher’s right to run, rejecting Republican efforts to remove him from the ballot. The state has asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit, arguing it has no legal basis.
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