Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola says she didn’t know about a covert effort to put another candidate on the Alaska ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent.
But aides linked to Ms. Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reportedly helped recruit retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan Jr. to run against Sen. Dan S. Sullivan in the Republican-leaning state.
Ms. Peltola said in a Thursday speech in the Alaskan capital of Juneau that she wants to “clear the air.”
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“I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about,” she said. “I am not interested in tricking voters.”
A swarm of legal action followed a New York Times report detailing the scheme: The Justice Department escalated a criminal investigation with new grand jury subpoenas, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation of Ms. Peltola’s campaign and the House Oversight Committee said it planned to probe people tied to the election trickery.
Ms. Peltola said the alleged dirty campaign trick has resulted in her now suffering “smears and attacks.”
“I just feel like I’m dodging bullets left and right, you know? Just, you know, with all the nonsense,” she said Thursday. “And when did The New York Times become the National Enquirer? Inquiring minds want to know.”
The newspaper reported that the scheme was dubbed the “ballot composition project,” and it began in the summer of 2025, according to Elisa Rios, Ms. Peltola’s former campaign manager and the paper’s main on-the-record source. Ms. Rios said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aides introduced Jerid Kurtz, a Democratic operative who co-owns Wingspan Strategies, as a specialist in ballot maneuvers.
Ms. Rios later sought to retract her statements, but the Times said her interviews were consistent with its other reporting.
The Peltola campaign and DSCC said they had no connection to the effort.
Dan J. Sullivan said he entered the race on his own.
The Justice Department’s subpoenas seek grand jury testimony and documents and demand the preservation of records, according to the Associated Press.
Its civil lawsuit, filed before the Times report, seeks to block certification if Sen. Sullivan loses due to “voter confusion,” having been amended Thursday to add the Times’ reporting.
Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, announced a separate probe, in which the committee wants to question Ms. Rios and Mr. Kurtz.
Mr. Dunleavy, Alaska’s Republican governor, also ordered an investigation into whether Ms. Peltola’s campaign violated state law and could face criminal or civil penalties.
He said his probe could affect whether a winner is certified.
The race is considered key to control of the U.S. Senate.
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