Former President Donald Trump has demanded that Alaska Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola be removed from the ballot, citing a report that suggests Democratic operatives recruited candidates to siphon votes from incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
"In Alaska, I don’t think Mary Peltola, after perpetrating such a terrible scheme, should be allowed to run, because this is ELECTION FRAUD,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. “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. She shouldn’t be allowed to run, and neither should the FAKE Dan Sullivan!”
Trump’s remarks were prompted by a New York Times report detailing an alleged effort by Democratic strategists to recruit individuals, including a man named Dan J. Sullivan, to run against the Republican senator. The goal, according to the report, was to dilute the vote for Sullivan. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, had previously told Courthouse News that he was running to advocate for change.
Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied any involvement in recruiting other candidates, according to The Times.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race if Sen. Sullivan were to lose.
"Mary 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,” Trump added in a subsequent Truth Social post.
While such practices may raise ethical concerns, the recruitment of spoiler candidates is not illegal, despite Trump’s assertion of election fraud.