The New York Times on Wednesday published a blockbuster story claiming that multiple former staffers on the campaign of Alaska Democratic Senatorial nominee Mary Peltola implicated her and others in the effort to confuse voters with decoy “Dan Sullivan” candidates. Peltola has long denied knowledge or involvement, but the Times reported that she was allegedly aware of the effort that also involved campaign officials, its lawyers and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Rounding out the array of “usual suspects” is the Marc Elias Group. Elias was involved in the Russian hoax and has been previously sanctioned in court. The Times reported that Peltola’s campaign manager told it that “Alaskan voters need to know.”
Democrats like Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) immediately ran out to do damage control and depict Rio as a “disgruntled former employee.” The problem is that it is not just Rio. The Times referenced multiple campaign workers and brought receipts.
The Times names Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz, who allegedly worked with and communicated with Rios and others on the campaign, including Anton McParland, who at the time was Ms. Peltola’s chief of staff. It also states that campaign lawyers were involved in this despicable dirty trick to get voters to cast mistaken ballots.
The Times reported that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, chaired by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), was aware of and involved in the effort. The effort was allegedly called “a ballot composition” project and Kurtz was allegedly paid through a pro-Peltola fund.
The Times details the effort to conceal it. For example, the paper reports:
The Peltola aides worried at times that Mr. Kurtz’s efforts would be discovered, such as when he posted an image of the Anchorage airport on his Instagram account.
“I am hearing that our friend in the state is being noticed,” Mr. McParland wrote in a text message in January reviewed by The Times. Andrew Piatt, the D.S.C.C.’s director of campaigns, replied: “We will check in.”
Peltola refused to address specifics in response to the story. She attacked the liberal New York Times for just trying “to sell newspapers” and dismissed the story by saying that “Nobody’s waking up worried about ballot composition. Not even me. I’m worried about my bills. I’m worried about affordability in health care.”
Peltola is clearly hoping to ride this out for the last week. However, it could snowball legally. The staff was aware of past public denials and the likelihood of an investigation. Indeed, the Justice Department filed to try to address the confusion, but Peltola filed to block the effort and declared in court filings that the allegations were “baseless.”
There may be questions as to whether the lawyers and staff were forthcoming in such filings,
It is not a crime to help engineer decoy candidates, even if it is viewed as the lowest form of dirty politics. Lying about your knowledge or involvement only magnifies the unethical conduct.
However, it is easy to trip a legal wire in such efforts. Campaign filings must be true and correct. Indeed, Elias and the Clinton campaign were later sanctioned for hiding the funding of the infamous Steele dossier as a legal expense. (The Clinton campaign denied such involvement until after the election).
There can be allegations of not only misrepresentations in filings but possible violations in the pressuring of potential witnesses, destruction of evidence, or false statements to federal investigators.
The risk of such allegations should lead the Peltola lawyers to withdraw from further work, as they could become potential witnesses and targets in state or federal investigations. Reports indicate grand jury subpoenas are expected in the coming days.
There are also questions about the past interactions of the decoy Dan Sullivan, who insisted that the idea to run was his own idea and that he did not have communications with the Democrats on such an effort. He also has not responded to the story.
Yet, the Times reports an extensive effort to coordinate and communicate with decoys:
The operation began in the summer of 2025 to lure potential spoiler candidates onto the state’s unusual four-person ballot, Ms. Rios said. …
Months later, in early 2026, Mr. Kurtz participated in a video call with members of the ballot composition team, Ms. Rios said. He told the group he had made contact with one of the Dan Sullivans. This Mr. Sullivan lived in the tiny village of Petersburg, and Mr. Kurtz described him as amenable to running if it would help Ms. Peltola, Ms. Rios said.
Mr. Kurtz “told us when he found him,” she said. He said Mr. Sullivan “said he hated Trump, and if it was going to help Mary, he liked Mary. He didn’t have any interest in being a politician, but if this could help.”
Mr. Sullivan, who has maintained that he entered the race of his own volition, did not respond to repeated requests for comment over the past week.
With the reported investigations unfolding, this has the makings of a major scandal with possible criminal and civil elements. It would be wise for staffers to “lawyer up.” The likelihood of state and federal investigations is quite high and it is also likely that some of these same sources will cooperate with investigators. Lawyers tend to minimize the risk for their clients in such investigation. They do not want their client to be the target without a chair when the music stops.
In other words, this is likely to metastasize in the coming weeks. However, with the rapidly approaching election, the die is cast on the ballots. That may be good news for the Democrats for retaking power, but it may not be good news for the potential targets. It will only magnify the costs of this conspiracy if it moves from a political conspiracy to an actual criminal conspiracy.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
What a terrible column. Talk about baseless allegations… that’s all this article is. What filings were made that would incur criminal liability?
One would hope before writing such a ridiculous article, you would give at least one example.
Is it dirty politics? Yes. Is it illegal? No.
Is your intent merely to fuel the Age of Rage? Most assuredly, yes.
I’m astonished; nay, ASTONISHED, that the Grey Lady broke this story.
Dirty tricks are endemic to politics, and the same name trick is nothing new. It has worked before. However, it is especially pernicious with the top 4 ranked choice system that Alaska has. Dirty tricks are legitimate, but perjury about them is not. Since the early vote is already in, Pelotla has probably already been elected, so there is the question – do any of their past statements or filings constitute perjury?
Really, vile is too tame a word for the modern left. This is sickening, it is evil; I honestly believe that they can’t win an election honestly in the 21st century. I wish I had something more salient to say other than our modern dems are disgusting, but I don’t.
I also wish I were surprised, but I’m not; these days if there’s an election, it’s guaranteed the dnc is standing knee-deep in sh*t and flinging it at literally all of the rest of us. It’s really time for their chicanery to end, they are insane, totalitarian thugs, and that is pretty much it. Clutch your pearls all you like, ‘classical’ libs – this is your former party now and for all time going forward.
Is anyone really surprised?
Well, for the NYT to run with the report, perhaps surprised there. But they must of had enough sources and evidence to go with it.
Be interesting to see if and who folds to make sure they have a chair to sit upon when the music stops.
@Upstate
And they do something similar, every. Single. Time. And they shrug it off, get away with it, and they do it again.
I am begging for any of it to sink in with the very seemingly r*tarded lefty voters, especially the older ones. If their IQs haven’t been reduced to double digits, then for Pete’s sake, show it.
You know, it’s not so much that they keep pulling these stunts and getting caught but that no one is held responsible. They pervert the election, get caught and then blame Trump.
The news here IS NOT that a Democrat didn’t strive for elections we can believe in. The news here IS that The “New York Times” didn’t bury the story.
@Stephen
That is news, and unfortunately due to the track record, it makes me ask, ‘Why?’. I guarantee you it isn’t altruism, truth to power, or love of ethical honesty.
I’m hoping that lots of ugly publicity will wake up Alaskan voters to this deliberate Democrat fraud and prevent it from being a success.
I blame GOP Senator Murkowski for this. She pushed ranked-choice balloting to avoid being primaried by the GOP, and now it may have cost the GOP a critical seat. The Democrats gamed the system that was always intended to be gamed by Murkowski herself. Never trust a stinking RINO.
In light of this fiasco, Alaskans should support MEASURE 2, which is a ballot initiative to REPEAL RANKED-CHOICE BALLOTING. Look for it in the November 3, 2026, general election.
And then primary Murkowski first chance you get.
Since the early vote is already in, Peltola has probably already been elected. It is too late to change anything.
There will be the usual partisan divide over this. Just switch the jerseys and watch how quickly the arguments change.
If the Times has it right, the whole scheme was designed to confuse voters. Whether that’s illegal isn’t my point. Whether it’s honest is.
Anyone who thinks deliberately misleading voters is acceptable politics can spare me the lectures about democracy.
You’re not interested in self-government. You’re interested in power.
Olly,
Interesting that you say, “If the Times has it right”.
I thought it was dogma among the denizens here that the NYT NEVER gets it right. There are comments here on a daily basis attacking the MSM for completely failing to report ANYTHING with any degree of accuracy.
So now all of a sudden these same people are falling over themselves in a frenzied attack on the Democrats based on information from a source that they say cannot be trusted.
What part of “if” don’t you understand?
I don’t question a source because of its name. I question the information it presents. I’m perfectly capable of evaluating evidence and questioning its accuracy without deciding in advance whether it’s true or false based on who published it.
You might try that sometime.
They may have the story right, but are reporting it so late that the early vote is already in and Peltola has already won the election.
Andrew, early voting has started, but Election Day is still November 3. Unless you know something the rest of us don’t, nobody has won anything yet.
Are you suggesting the Times deliberately sat on this story? If so, what evidence do you have of that?
I have no idea how this election will turn out. Neither do you.
I don’t know if they sat on it or not, but most people vote early these days. If the contest is as close as polls say, election day votes are unlikely to change the outcome.
FAKE NEWS !!!!!
Nobody in their right mind can believe anything from the New York Times.
Everybody here knows perfectly well that the NYT cannot be trusted.
It’s standard practice for the dems nationwide. It typically takes the form of recruiting 3rd party candidates, usually Green Party, as in MD8, hoping to siphon votes from the Republican candidate. Sadly it has worked in the past. We shall see.
at this point Every Democrat knows their Party is Corrupt to the CORE!
2024 they weren’t even allowed to pick a presidential canidate!
It is telling that even the leftist, wokist, NYT is uncomfortable with the fraudulent conduct of Peltola, her campaign staff, and the Democrats defending this attempted deception. Unfortunately, it will all come to naught as our broken court system continues to fail us. Hopefully, the voters of Alaska will understand and reject this naked attempt to ruin their election, but I have my doubts. Is it time to return to the original practice in which Senators were appointed by State governors?
There are only 26 Republican governors in the USA. Can’t how how that would make a difference. You?
well people flee democrat states to republican states…then like MORONS they vote for Democrats to destroy their new state
593k registered voters. 23% reps., 12% dems., 65 % independents. Based on this, can’t see how Peltola has chance, but stranger things can happened with ranked choice rules.
2024 Turnout 64%.
https://independentvoterproject.org/voter-stats/ak
Anonymous cites voter registration as being 23% Rep, 12% Dem and 65% Ind and asks basically why it matters. But these crooks placed TWO Dan Sullivans and another so-called Republican on the ballot with only ONE Democrat. Peltola is obviously playing a math game trying to rig the election. You know…for Democracy.
look up how rank Choice Voting works
Helpful statistics! Thank you!
Marc Elias always argues he is saving democracy?!?!??! How many examples of Democrats perfidy do we need to see before this odious party is ruined?
Marc Elias always argues he is saving democracy? Can you disprove that statement?
Did you read today’s column?
With the reported investigations unfolding, this has the makings of a major scandal with possible criminal and civil elements.
Oh… just what MAGAots need to get the blood boiling.
No ones blood is boiling.
We knew about this months ago. The good professor pointed out, it is not illegal although ethically questionable.
That they would resort and conspire to such a trick and then try to cover it up . . . does that really surprise anyone?
It’s a nasty little trick by the Democrats, while simultaneously an insult to Alaskans that they should be so stupid as not to know the one Dan Sullivan from the other. It seems both parties think of their voters as kinda stupid.