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By Andrew Stanton
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Alaska’s Senate race has been roiled by a new investigation from The New York Times reporting that Democratic operatives were allegedly involved in recruiting a candidate who shares the name of GOP Senator Dan Sullivan, as Republicans allege an effort to sow confusion at the ballot box in the highly competitive contest.
The race has become one of the most closely watched elections in the 2026 midterms, and it’s one of a handful of toss-ups that could determine the balance of power in the Senate. Sullivan is facing a challenge from former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat. But two other names, one of which has drawn scrutiny from the Justice Department, are also on the ballot due to Alaska’s unique electoral system.
Alaska uses a ranked-choice jungle electoral system, where all candidates appear on a single ballot in the primary, and the four with the most support advance to the general election. In this case, Peltola and Sullivan will be joined by two other Republicans on the ballot—Gerald Heikes and Daniel J. Sullivan.
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If no candidates receive an outright majority, the candidate with the least number of votes would be eliminated, and their voters would be distributed to their second choice. That process would repeat itself if, again, no candidate breaks 50 percent.
Republicans have sought to have Daniel J. Sullivan removed from the ballot, alleging that his candidacy is meant to confuse voters and boost Peltola’s chances. A new report from the Times found that Democratic operatives were allegedly involved in recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan.
The report comes as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued Alaska over the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan.
What Did the New York Times Find?
The *Times—*citing interviews, text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit—reported that Peltola’s team allegedly worked with people trying to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan and other potential spoilers. The effort allegedly involved Peltola’s campaign lawyers and aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, both of which have denied any involvement.
The alleged effort began in 2025, when Democratic aides were asked to compile a list of Dan Sullivans who live in Alaska, which included the eventual Republican challenger, according to the Times. Daniel J. Sullivan, who is not a fan of President Donald Trump, had indicated he would be interested in running to help Peltola, and eventually filed paperwork in May 2026.
His candidacy quickly drew criticism from Republicans, who led an unsuccessful effort to remove him from the ballot.
It’s not unusual for either political party to support candidates who could be spoilers against their rivals. Earlier this cycle, the Anchorage Daily News reported that conservative groups spent money to boost Richard Grayson, a Green Party candidate running in the Senate race “for fun.” In Ohio, another key Senate race, a Republican-aligned group allegedly sent out mailers promoting a socialist candidate.
What Campaigns Are Saying
A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesperson denied any involvement in a statement to Newsweek.
“The DSCC is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan,” the spokesperson said. “Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns – including recruiting a prisoner with a New York address to run against Mary Peltola and spending nearly half a million dollars to secure a spot on the ballot in Alaska for an Arizona resident in the Senate race this cycle.”
Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Senator Sullivan, told Newsweek that Alaskans “deserve the truth,” accusing Peltola and Democrats of trying to “recruit candidates to deliberately deceive and confuse voters.”
“Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along. We always knew this was a concerted effort to deceive Alaskans, and Mary Peltola was hoping it would stay covered up until after the election,” he said.
The Peltola campaign told Newsweek, “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC.”
Newsweek also reached out to the campaign for Daniel J. Sullivan for comment via email.
Peltola’s campaign told the Times that it had “no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race.”
Why Is the DOJ Suing Alaska?
The DOJ lawsuit against Alaska election officials centers around the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan.
The DOJ says the “sole purpose” of Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy is to “benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan," the DOJ wrote in its lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks to block the certification of the Alaska Senate results if the incumbent does not win the election and if he would have won the election "had all votes cast for Dan J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska's ranked-choice process played out accordingly."
It would also require an investigation into whether Alaskans who cast their vote for Daniel J. Sullivan intended to vote for the incumbent and allow further procedures to determine what the election result would have been without the alleged confusion.
U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason imposed an emergency schedule in the government’s lawsuit Monday, agreeing to fast-track consideration for Peltola’s campaign and voting rights group League of Women Voters of Alaska to intervene in the case.
Trump told reporters on Friday he told the DOJ to sue Alaska over the Senate race.
"So, the Democrats put up a guy, I don't think he ever voted before, all of a sudden he decides to run for the Senate," Trump said. "The Daniel J. is the fake and he wants to change his middle initial to "S," and he says this has nothing to do with politics."
Alaska election officials said they “designed the ballot to distinguish” between the two Sullivans “as much as possible,” by including their initials, the “Jr.” that differentiates the challenger, as well as noting the senator’s political affiliation and incumbent status.
“The United States has no legal authority over how candidates secure their place on the ballot in state elections; only the federal constitution’s qualifications clause constrains a state’s rules. And the United States also has no legally cognizable interest in securing a particular election outcome,” the election board wrote in a filing.
Alaska Senate Race: Latest Polls
The legal case comes in one of the most competitive Senate battlegrounds, as polling points to a very close race in the state. RealClearPolitics’ polling aggregate gave Peltola an average lead of 1.2 points on Wednesday, less than a week until Election Day.
The latest Data for Progress poll gave Peltola a 2-point lead on the final round of ranked-choice, 51 percent to 49 percent, among 675 likely voters from October 8 to 16. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Peltola also led by 2 points in an InsiderAdvantage poll, 50 percent to 48 percent. It surveyed 1,200 likely voters from October 9 to 10 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
A poll from The New York Times and Siena University, however, gave Peltola a 7-point lead, 50 percent to 43 percent, among 504 likely voters from September 24 to October 1. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 percentage points.
Notably, Alaska is a vast, rural state where polling is difficult, but it does have an independent streak despite leaning toward Republicans. For instance, its state Senate has a majority coalition made up of Democrats and moderate Republicans.
Republican margins have also generally been slowly shrinking in the state over the past few decades.
Trump carried Alaska by 13 points in 2024, 10 points in 2020 and 15 points in 2016. Republicans also won Alaska by 14 points in 2012, nearly 22 points in 2008, 26 points in 2004 and 31 points in 2000.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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