DNC chair defends El-Sayed, Peltola as Democrats brace for post-election legal fights

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin defended Democratic Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) against recent GOP attacks amid growing concern the party will have to brace for post-election legal fights .

“What Dr. El-Sayed has said is true. I mean, what most Michiganders care about is not all of this controversy that’s swirling around right now. What they’re focused on is the fact that they can barely afford their lives right now,” Martin said during an appearance on “The Hill Sunday.”

El-Sayed has been called out by former primary opponent Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) over recent ads aired by a super PAC supporting his campaign that tied rising grocery prices to U.S. military aid to Israel.

Martin similarly called Stevens’s recent decision to endorse former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) in the state’s competitive Senate race “disappointing” and a “political stunt.”

Peltola is facing her own challenges as the GOP launched multiple probes into her campaign following a New York Times report alleging she participated in a “ballot-stacking” scheme to recruit another candidate who shared the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).

Ballot “stacking” is a common practice, especially in Alaska’s unusual nonpartisan, top four voting system. GOP strategists previously told The Hill that it is not illegal.

“I’m certainly uncomfortable with any of those types of tactics. But let me say, Mary Peltola has made it very clear that she had nothing to do with this, nor anyone on her campaign,” Martin stated. “But the reality is the Supreme Court in Alaska has already decided in this case. This was brought earlier this year, as you know. They said that it’s fine to have two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, but that they needed to make sure that there was no voter confusion.”

The DNC chair is referring to a recent decision that listed the senator as “incumbent” and “Registered Republican” on ballots, while the other candidate was listed as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” “A lot of Alaskans have already voted, and they’re voting for Mary Peltola,” Martin concluded. “Dan Sullivan, the current incumbent, had an opportunity in the Senate to actually deliver for Alaskans. He chose not to.”

A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit in Alaska that sought to block certification if the second Dan Sullivan running for Senate causes voter confusion.

The House Oversight Committee’s probe into the matter is still ongoing. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) warned there’s “a big possibility” Peltola will not be seated even if she won the race.