46,204 ballots cast as second Dan Sullivan remains on Alaska Senate race

A second Dan Sullivan is on the ballot for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat next Tuesday.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola participated in efforts to place a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

The newspaper cited text messages between members of Peltola's team. They discussed recruiting individuals who shared the name of the two-term Republican they opposed. The group selected Dan J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher from the fishing community of Petersburg.

He cleared the state's August open primary. He is one of four candidates on the ranked choice ballot for the Nov. 3 general election.

Dan J. Sullivan has denied running at the direction of Democrats. He told reporters in June that he had no contact with Peltola's team. He described that contact as zero, none, and zilch.

A top state elections official initially ruled him ineligible. The official said his candidacy was filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead voters. The Alaska Supreme Court overturned that ruling. It said he was qualified to run under constitutional age, citizenship, and residency rules.

President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit last week. The suit seeks to block the certification of a Peltola victory. Trump called for legal penalties against Democrats on his social media site Wednesday. He wrote that Peltola should suffer the legal and political consequences of her actions.

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan, said Alaskans deserve the truth. He accused Peltola, her advisers, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee of colluding to recruit candidates to deceive voters.

Peltola's campaign stated Wednesday that it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The DSCC also denied involvement. It said it is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan. The Times report noted that DSCC staffers appeared in the texts discussing the recruitment.

Legal experts said the new report will not change the DOJ lawsuit. Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame, called the recruitment a dirty campaign trick. He said the Alaska Supreme Court should have removed the candidate, but the decision now rests with voters.

The Times based its story partly on interviews with Elisa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager. She was fired in August. The newspaper said she attempted to retract her comments last week. The Associated Press did not immediately hear back from Rios.

According to AP data as of Monday, 46,204 ballots have been cast in Alaska. Sen. Sullivan appears on the ballot as the Republican incumbent. The other candidate is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. with no party affiliation.