Prosecutors Probe an Alleged Plot to Put a Second Dan Sullivan on Alaska’s Ballot. The New York Times Says Peltola Aides and DSCC Staff Ran It.
Days before the election, a New York Times investigation alleges that aides to Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola and staff at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ran a “ballot composition project” to put a second Dan Sullivan on the Alaska ballot and siphon votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Peltola says she knew nothing about it. Her campaign and the DSCC deny involvement. Federal prosecutors say they are investigating “intensely and swiftly,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered a separate state probe, and no one has been charged.
- 12 — sources behind the Times report, plus text messages and documents, Source: ABC News, Oct. 28, 2026
- 2 — separate government probes: a federal criminal investigation and a state inquiry ordered by Gov. Dunleavy · Source: TIME; ABC News
- 0 — people charged; the U.S. Attorney declined to say what crime is under investigation · Source: Mediaite; ABC News
The Times report, published October 28, rests on 12 sources, text messages and documents prepared for a possible lawsuit, per ABC News. It describes campaign staff, Peltola’s lawyers and senior DSCC aides working together on what they internally called the “ballot composition project,” according to Fox News and ABC.
The central source is Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, who was fired in August. She told the Times the effort began in summer 2025 and that a staffer was told to find as many Alaskans named Dan Sullivan as possible from the voter rolls. She said Peltola was not directly involved but was “definitely aware.” Rios later asked the Times to retract her statements without saying why; the paper kept them, citing texts, documents and 11 other sources, per Fox News and ABC.
Fox News’s summary adds that Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz allegedly used aliases to recruit candidates, that drywall contractor Gerald Heikes was allegedly recruited, and that Democrat David Leslie was allegedly pressured to drop out to clear a ballot spot. The Times also reported that ballot-stacking tactics are generally legal and used by both parties.
Peltola’s committee, Alaskans for Mary, said it “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The DSCC said it was “not involved with Dan J. Sullivan” and pointed to a 2024 episode in which the state GOP backed a Democratic House candidate in a ballot challenge against Peltola, per ABC. At a Juneau rally on October 29, Peltola said, “I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,” and, “I am not interested in tricking voters.”
Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, appears on the ballot as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” with no party affiliation, per ABC. He has said in court filings and interviews that he entered the race on his own and denied trying to confuse voters. State elections officials ruled him ineligible as a candidate filed to mislead; the Alaska Supreme Court reversed that in June, finding no basis in state law or the Constitution to remove him, per the Alaska Beacon. ABC reports courts found nothing illegal in his bid, even if it was not entirely in “good faith.”
Reports differ on his registration: Fox News says he switched to Republican shortly before filing, and ABC calls him a Republican, while the ballot lists no party.
At an Anchorage press conference on October 30, U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman (a Trump administration appointee) said the Justice Department is acting “intensely and swiftly” on “deeply troubling” new information, producing a “significant surge” of law enforcement resources, per ABC. The probe predates the Times story by several months, and a wave of subpoenas has gone out, per ABC.
“I'm not going to make any assumptions on if a crime has been committed or not.”
U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman, Oct. 30, 2026, per Mediaite
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) ordered a state investigation, saying the reporting showed “new evidence” of an effort to mislead voters, per TIME. The Justice Department also filed to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan, per PBS NewsHour and NPR. Separately, President Trump posted that Peltola should be “removed from the Ballot and prosecuted,” and House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) sent letters seeking transcribed interviews with Rios and Kurtz, per The Hill.
The legal theory is unsettled. Alaska Beacon reporting in August described investigators weighing whether two or more people conspired to create the candidacy, including wire-fraud and conspiracy-to-deprive-voters theories. Alaska attorney and former GOP operative Scott Kendall told The Hill that ballot stacking, if it happened, would be wrong but not unlawful. The state Department of Law said the Times report “confirmed its initial concerns” but that placing candidates on the ballot is a matter of state law.
A separate civil case is moving fast. The Justice Department sued on October 22 to block certification if Sen. Sullivan narrowly loses, asking that votes for Daniel J. Sullivan be counted as if cast for the incumbent. Alaska elections director Carol Beecher asked for dismissal as having no legal basis, and Judge Sharon Gleason signaled skepticism about the timing, per the Alaska Beacon. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said the suit should never have been filed but also demanded Peltola tell the “honest truth,” per TIME.
Mary Peltola (D) — Democratic Senate nominee. Denies knowledge; not charged.
Elisa Rios — Peltola’s former campaign manager, fired in August; the Times’s central source, who later asked to retract.
Jerid Kurtz — Democratic operative named in the Times report. Not charged.
Dan J. Sullivan — Petersburg retiree on the ballot as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” Denies being recruited to spoil the race.
The Times alleges Democratic operatives deliberately fielded a second Dan Sullivan; the campaign denies it, a court has already let him stay on the ballot, and prosecutors will not say what crime they are testing. The voters decide on November 3, before any of it is resolved.
