Trump demands Alaska Senate candidates be removed over alleged ballot scheme
US President Donald Trump has called for the removal and prosecution of two candidates in Alaska's Senate race, accusing Democrats of trying to mislead voters through an alleged ballot scheme. His comments came after a newspaper investigation reported efforts linked to Democratic operatives to recruit namesake candidates in the contest. The dispute centres on Alaska's ranked-choice system, where voters rank candidates by preference and lower-ranked votes can be transferred if no one wins outright.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Trump made the accusation in posts on Truth Social on Wednesday, saying the alleged conduct amounted to "voter fraud at the highest level". He named Mary Peltola and Daniel J Sullivan Jr in his remarks and said both should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. The reporting said the effort followed a 2025 push to identify Alaskans named Dan Sullivan, including a retired teacher with the same name as Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
The newspaper also said the race includes four candidates and that the ballot identifies the sitting senator as an incumbent Republican. The allegations have added a new layer of tension to a race that could help decide control of the US Senate. Alaska's system is unusual in national politics because it combines a ranked-choice vote with a small field in which names on the ballot can matter significantly.
The reporting said ballot-stacking tactics, in which candidates are recruited to split an opponent's vote, are generally legal and have been used by both parties in Alaska. That point is central to the dispute, because Trump's accusation frames the tactic as fraud even though the reporting described it as a known and lawful strategy. According to the investigation, the effort began when a Peltola aide was asked to identify Alaskans named Dan Sullivan.
Advert for a company owned by the publisher of 360LiveNews.
It said advisers and officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee discussed ways to reshape the ballot, and identified Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz as a recruiter who approached potential candidates, sometimes under an assumed name. The report also said another Democrat withdrew after being approached, which opened a place for Republican Gerald Heikes, who said he had also been encouraged to run. These details have made the race a test case for how far campaign tactics can go in a closely watched Senate contest.
The reporting also said Peltola's former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, told the newspaper that Peltola knew about the operation but did not take part directly. Rios later sought to withdraw those statements, while the newspaper said other evidence supported its account. Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denied recruiting candidates.
That leaves a dispute over intent and responsibility, rather than a confirmed finding of illegal conduct, at the centre of the story. What remains unclear is whether any official body will investigate the allegations or whether the dispute will stay in the political arena. The immediate next point to watch is how the candidates respond as the November 3 vote approaches.
#Alaska #Senaterace #DonaldTrump #rankedchoicevoting #ballotscheme
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
