Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola to withdraw from the upcoming midterm election and face criminal charges, asserting that her allies were behind an effort to introduce a candidate with the same name as her Republican opponent. Trump made the remarks at Joint Base Andrews before departing for Ohio.
"Mary Peltola should resign from the race. I think she should be prosecuted criminally for what she did," Trump told reporters. He also stated that any of Peltola's allies involved in recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan should face criminal charges.
The New York Times reported that top aides to Peltola were involved in the recruitment effort. While Peltola had initially denied any knowledge, the report indicated she was aware of the plan. The scheme aimed to leverage Alaska's ballot system, which allows four candidates to advance from the primary to the general election. Both Daniel J. Sullivan and incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan are on the ballot, along with Peltola.
Trump characterized the alleged action as "voter fraud at the highest level," adding, "They said they didn’t do it, and they did do it, and they got caught. And in fact, it was a plot by the Democrat Party."
It remains unclear what specific law would be invoked for prosecution, as Daniel Sullivan met the legal requirements to run for office. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is the incumbent and a registered Republican, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. lacks such a distinction.