President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Alaska Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola should be taken off the ballot after a report that Democrats recruited candidates to take votes away from incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
“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 page. “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 was referring to a New York Times report that Democratic operatives had secretly recruited so-called “spoiler” candidates in an effort to draw votes away from Sullivan, which included finding people named Dan Sullivan to run and dilute the vote for the GOP senator.
Earlier this year, one such Alaskan — retired Petersburg teacher Dan J. Sullivan — announced his candidacy. He told Courthouse News last week that he was running because he wanted change. Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denied any involvement in his candidacy, The Times reported, and said they did not recruit other candidates into the race.
Last week, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit asking the Justice Department to block the certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race if Sen. Sullivan loses.
“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 said in another Truth Social post Wednesday.
While it may raise ethical questions, the practice of recruiting spoiler candidates is not illegal, despite Trump’s latest claim of election fraud.