Mary Peltola, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alaska, has dismissed a New York Times report alleging her campaign's involvement in a covert operation to recruit spoiler candidates with the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Peltola characterized the report as a "distraction" and a "diversion" designed to generate news coverage and subscriptions.
During a rally on Wednesday, Peltola stated, "This is just another distraction. It's another diversion. Every day, it’s some new, you know, ‘Look over here moment.’ Not Dan Sullivan, registered Republican, incumbent, voted for this war in Iran 14 times. Lisa Murkowski quit voting for that war in Iran six months ago, and he’s doubling and tripling down."
The New York Times investigation, published Wednesday, described an operation internally named the "ballot composition project." According to the report, since 2025, a Peltola staffer was tasked with compiling a list of Alaskans named Dan Sullivan from state voter rolls. The alleged operation reportedly involved aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), top campaign advisors, party lawyers, and an operative who traveled the state under assumed identities.
One instance cited by the Times involved the recruitment of a retired teacher named Dan J. Sullivan, who announced a candidacy for Senate in the spring. Peltola suggested the report was motivated by a desire to sell newspapers, telling attendees at the rally, "Nobody at The New York Times cares about affordability in Alaska."
However, Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Dan Sullivan, criticized Peltola's response. "Instead of admitting she has been caught red-handed in a scheme to manipulate and deceive Alaska voters, Mary Peltola's response is to attack the media outlets she has been lying to for months," Adams told Fox News Digital.
According to The New York Times, Elisa Rios, who previously served as Peltola’s campaign manager before her dismissal in August, stated that while Peltola was not directly involved in orchestrating the project, she was "definitely aware."
The DSCC, in a previous statement to Fox News, denied involvement with the other Sullivan campaign. A spokesperson for the DSCC also accused Republicans of a history of recruiting and supporting candidates to boost their own campaigns, citing examples such as recruiting a prisoner to run against Peltola and spending significantly to secure a ballot spot for an Arizona resident in the current Senate race.
In a statement to The New York Times, Peltola’s campaign maintained, "The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race."
