Peltola denies knowing about Alaska spoiler candidate Dan J. Sullivan

Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola (D) on Thursday again denied knowing anything about her campaign’s alleged recruitment of Dan J. Sullivan to challenge her GOP opponent, incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R), in an effort to dilute the incumbent’s vote share.

“I just want to clear the air,” Peltola said during a speech in Juneau, Alaska, The Associated Press reported . “I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.”

She added, “That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters.”

The high-stakes Senate race, which uses a ranked-choice system in Alaska, has made headlines in recent weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit claiming the presence of a candidate with the same name as the incumbent on the ballot could give Peltola an unfair advantage in the upcoming election.

On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the Democrat’s campaign was directly involved in recruiting the other Sullivan. Several GOP lawmakers took to social media to blast the Democratic candidate in the wake of the Times story.

“Alaskans will leave Peltola unranked on the ballot because of her dirty tricks. Voters can trust the real Dan Sullivan, and I’m confident he’ll be re-elected,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) wrote on the social platform X . He also called on the DOJ to investigate Peltola’s campaign.

“Two terms in Congress. Zero bills signed into law. But she found time to hunt down every Dan Sullivan in Alaska,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) wrote online . “Let’s elect the REAL Dan Sullivan.”

President Trump, in a Truth Social post earlier this week, said the Alaska Democrat should face legal and political consequences.

“It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan to run against our distinguished Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan, in order to defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election, thereby taking votes away from the REAL Senator, Dan Sullivan,” Trump wrote.

The president has also said Peltola should not be allowed to run for Senate after the allegations.

Peltola’s campaign has also denied any involvement in the matter.

Outgoing Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) opened a probe into the alleged ballot stacking and said it could affect certification of the election should Peltola win next week. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee also launched an investigation into the former lawmaker.

The race in Alaska is competitive, with nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ leaning narrowly in favor of Peltola, whom the forecaster gives 60 percent chance of winning.