President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola to drop out of the race and face criminal prosecution, less than a week before the Nov. 3 midterm election.
“Mary Peltola should resign from the race. I think she should be prosecuted criminally for what she did,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving to campaign for Republicans in Ohio, according to the New York Post. He said allies who helped bring a second Dan Sullivan into the race should also face criminal charges.
What set Trump off
The comments followed a New York Times report, published Wednesday and based on 12 sources plus text messages and documents, that aides to Peltola, lawyers for her campaign and senior staff at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee helped push candidates onto Alaska’s ballot who could pull votes from incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
One of them is Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher who shares the senator’s name. According to the Times, as reported by Axios, a Peltola staffer was told to look for every Dan Sullivan in the state. Dan J. Sullivan registered as a Republican shortly before filing to run, has said he voted for Democrats in the last three presidential elections, and will appear on the ballot without a party label.
Reuters reported that Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, told the Times that Peltola was aware of the effort but not directly involved.
Trump’s Truth Social posts
On Truth Social, Trump called it “ELECTION FRAUD” and wrote that Peltola “should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done,” according to The Hill and Axios. He said neither Peltola nor the “FAKE Dan Sullivan” should be allowed on the ballot, and accused Democrats of perjury, writing that “the Democrats’ false statements were made under oath in Federal Court.”
Peltola’s camp pushes back
Peltola’s campaign denied recruiting anyone. “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” it said in a statement reported by The Hill. The DSCC also denied involvement and pointed to Republican efforts to boost other candidates in the race.
Is any of it illegal?
No criminal charges have been filed. The Hill noted that the tactics described in the report are not illegal and are used by both parties, and ABC News reported that Alaska courts found nothing illegal about Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy. ABC also reported that the Justice Department has had an active criminal investigation into the circumstances of his candidacy for several months.
Separately, the Trump administration sued last week to block certification of Alaska’s Senate result if Sen. Sullivan narrowly loses, citing possible voter confusion. Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC have asked a federal judge to dismiss that suit.
Why it matters
Alaska uses a four-candidate, ranked-choice general election ballot, and the Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up. Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, so Democrats would need to flip four seats on Tuesday to take control.