US Democrats allegedly recruited 'spoiler' candidates to undermine Republican senator in Alaska

A New York Times investigation published Wednesday reports that Democratic operatives tied to Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign tried to recruit spoiler candidates in Alaska's Senate race against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, including a second candidate also named Dan Sullivan. Peltola's campaign and the DSCC deny recruiting anyone.

Democratic operatives working with US Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign sought to recruit spoiler candidates to undermine Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race, according to a New York Times investigation published Wednesday. The operation was internally called the "ballot composition project" and involved campaign aides, national Democratic officials and a political consultant operating under a false identity. The effort began in summer 2025, when a Peltola campaign staffer was instructed to search Alaska voter records for people sharing the Republican senator's name. The search led to Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, who entered the race in May and has said he decided to run independently. Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee both denied involvement in recruiting candidates. The investigation identified Jerid Kurtz, an Ohio-based Democratic operative, as a central figure; according to former campaign manager Elisa Rios, he was introduced to senior aides by DSCC officials in 2025. Rios, dismissed in an August campaign shake-up, said Peltola was not directly involved but was "definitely aware." The Times reported that Rios later tried to withdraw her statements, and that its reporting was corroborated by other interviews and documentary evidence. FEC records cited by the Times showed a pro-Peltola super PAC paid approximately $87,000 to Wingspan Strategies, a firm co-owned by Kurtz. The PAC denied hiring or paying Kurtz personally. Kurtz did not respond to requests for comment. The findings emerged less than a week after the Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's Senate election results if confusion between the two Sullivans affects the outcome. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that the second Sullivan could remain on the ballot.