NYT Report Alleges Peltola Campaign Used Spoiler Strategy to Dilute Sullivan's Vote

A New York Times investigation published Wednesday reveals that Mary Peltola’s campaign for the Alaska Senate seat actively pursued a strategy to fragment support for incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan. The effort, internally labeled the "ballot composition project," relied on recruiting spoiler candidates and leveraging namesakes to dilute the Republican vote. According to the report, the operation was covert, involving aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), senior campaign advisors, party lawyers, and an operative who crisscrossed the state under assumed identities.

President Donald Trump reacted swiftly, taking to Truth Social to condemn the tactics. He argued that Peltola should not remain on the ballot, branding the situation "ELECTION FRAUD." In a subsequent post, he wrote: "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. That’s perjury."

The scheme took shape in the summer of 2025. A Peltola staffer was instructed to scan state voter rolls to identify Alaskans sharing the incumbent's name. The strategy found immediate success in Petersburg, where Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher with left-leaning voting habits, switched his registration to Republican just before filing his own candidacy for the Senate seat.

At the heart of this maneuver was Jerid Kurtz, a Democratic operative who allegedly traversed Alaska using aliases such as "Zane." Kurtz reportedly approached potential recruits in local pubs and diners, offering financial support to encourage conservative and independent candidates to enter the race. The goal was clear: split the right-leaning vote.

Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager who was let go in August, provided key context to the Times. While she stated that Peltola did not directly orchestrate the project, she insisted the candidate was "definitely aware." "Alaskan voters need to know," Rios said. "There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions."

Rios later tried to retract her remarks before the article went live. However, the newspaper noted that her initial claims were backed by text messages, internal documents, and corroboration from 11 other sources. The incident has added a layer of controversy to an already contentious race, with both parties now trading accusations of trickery as midterm battles intensify.

The fallout from Alaska’s chaotic primary is hitting hard. One vocal critic demanded that Mary Peltola face legal and political reckoning for what he called a fraud on the American public. He also insisted that Dan Sullivan should run uncontested, with neither Peltola nor the "FAKE" Dan Sullivan appearing on the ballot.

The mess goes deeper than just one clone. According to reports, operatives brought in other players, like drywall contractor Gerald Heikes. They allegedly squeezed progressive candidate David Leslie out of the race. Why? To stop him from siphoning votes away from Peltola. That move paved the way for Heikes to grab the fourth spot on Alaska’s ranked-choice ballot.

Things got weirder in the back rooms. Campaign advisors and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) floated creating a third-party "MAGA party." The goal? To steal votes from the incumbent senator before the idea died in May. Jacquelyn Lopez, an attorney at Elias Law Group, was part of these discussions. She represents both the DSCC and Peltola’s campaign. Internal messages suggested staff were asking if they needed to "follow up with Jackie about maga party stuff." Another note confirmed Lopez was talking with Kurtz.

Peltola’s team pushes back hard. Their campaign told the Times they had zero involvement with either Sullivan campaign and didn’t recruit any candidates. The DSCC backed that up, claiming no role in bringing either Republican into the mix.

But the DSCC hit back at Fox News with a different angle. They pointed to Republican tricks. "Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns," a spokesperson said. They cited instances of Republicans recruiting a prisoner with a New York address to run against Peltola. They also mentioned spending nearly half a million dollars to get an Arizona resident on the ballot for this Senate race.

The White House jumped in via social media. Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X that Democrats’ secret, corrupt plan to stack Alaska's ballot was exposed.

The timing is nasty. This report landed days before Election Day. It sits alongside a Justice Department lawsuit trying to block certification if incumbent Sullivan loses due to voter confusion over two identical names.

Under Alaska’s four-person general election system, the field is set. Peltola enters Tuesday as the only Democrat. She faces Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Gerald Heikes.