Two days before Election Day, one of the Republican Party’s most powerful senators would not say whether he will accept the outcome of Alaska’s razor-close Senate race if Democrat Mary Peltola wins.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was pressed on the question Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” Asked whether he would accept the results if Peltola is certified as the winner over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, Scott did not directly answer.
“Dan Sullivan is going to win, Kristen,” he told moderator Kristen Welker. “You know that, and that’s the only thing I’m going to tell you because it’s the truth.”
A second dodge
When Welker asked a second time, Scott again sidestepped. “Number one, Dan Sullivan, the real Dan Sullivan, will win,” he said. “And number two, it actually is a federal offense to confuse voters.”
Scott also called Peltola’s campaign “immoral” and “unethical” and said, “you can’t trust Mary Peltola’s campaign and the collusion between her campaign and the DSCC,” referring to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. NBC News has previously reported that people who worked to recruit the challenger did not necessarily violate the law.
The fight over the “other” Dan Sullivan
The dispute centers on a second candidate on Alaska’s Senate ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, who shares a name with the Republican incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan. The New York Times reported last Wednesday that Democrats allegedly sought to recruit him, and that the effort involved members of Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC.
Both deny it. The DSCC said it “is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan,” and Peltola said she “knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.” Daniel J. Sullivan has denied coordinating with Peltola’s campaign. Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager who was fired in August and spoke to the Times, later said she retracted “all statements made regarding the 2026 Alaska Senate race.”
Sullivan himself says he’ll accept the result
Scott’s answer stood in contrast to the senator at the center of the race. Sullivan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he would accept the results of Tuesday’s election, Reuters reported, though he declined to say whether he would support efforts to refuse certification if he lost.
“They got the decoy guy on the ballot,” Sullivan said. “I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery. So what I say to Alaskans is, don’t let them get away with the tricks.”
Certification already under a cloud
The question of accepting the result is not hypothetical. Before the Times report, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block certification of Alaska’s Senate result if Sullivan loses narrowly, citing possible voter confusion. The Trump administration is also pressing a criminal investigation into the second Sullivan’s candidacy.
President Donald Trump has said both Peltola and the challenger Sullivan should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered a state investigation into whether the alleged scheme broke Alaska law and has suggested he may not certify a Peltola victory.
Polls show Sullivan and Peltola in a tight race, and Alaska is one of a handful of states that could decide control of a Senate where Republicans now hold a 53-47 majority. Voters go to the polls Tuesday.