Trump calls alleged Alaska Senate spoiler scheme ‘voter fraud at the highest level’

President Trump criticized Senate Democrats and former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) campaign on Wednesday amid allegations that the two worked together to put a spoiler candidate on the ballot in an effort to boost their party in the Alaska Senate race.

“This is voter fraud at the highest level,” Trump said while rallying in Chillicothe, Ohio, for GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Sen. Jon Husted, both of whom are locked in tight battles next Tuesday.

“That’s what they’re good at – cheating,” the president added.

The New York Times reported earlier on Wednesday that operatives of Peltola’s campaign and the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm were allegedly involved in recruiting spoiler candidates to the Alaska Senate race, including the “undeclared” candidate Dan J. Sullivan appearing on the Senate ballot, as a way to siphon votes away from the GOP incumbent.

Both Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) issued statements saying they had no involvement in such a scheme.

“Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any DC politician will keep her away from that fight,” a Peltola campaign spokesperson told The Hill in a statement. “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”

The DSCC also separately said in a statement they had “no involvement” in the spoiler Sullivan effort.

Recruiting spoiler candidates is not a new phenomenon as it’s a tactic that’s been legally used by both parties in the state before.

However, Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who’s been support of Peltola in the past, criticized Democrats for allegedly meddling in the Alaska Senate race – particularly as they’ve made threats to democracy a core message of theirs against the GOP.

Trump earlier on Wednesday called for both Peltola and the spoiler candidate to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.