Trump demands Alaska candidates be removed over alleged ballot scheme

What the report says

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for two candidates in Alaska’s Senate race to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, alleging that Democrats ran a scheme to confuse voters. His remarks came after a New York Times investigation examined efforts linked to Democrats to recruit additional candidates in the race, including a retired teacher with the same name as Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

Al Jazeera reported that the contest could help decide control of the US Senate and that Alaska’s ranked-choice system makes candidate names and vote transfers especially significant. Trump accused Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and Daniel J Sullivan Jr of election fraud in posts on Truth Social. The newspaper said the practice of encouraging similar candidates to split an opponent’s vote, often called ballot stacking, is generally legal and has been used by both major parties in Alaska.

The Times said the effort began in 2025 and involved discussions among Peltola advisers and officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which denied recruiting candidates. It identified Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz as a recruiter and said Peltola’s former campaign manager later said Peltola knew about the operation, though she did not take part directly. Peltola’s campaign rejected the allegations.

The article also noted that the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the retired teacher’s right to run in June, while Trump’s Justice Department recently sued Alaska in an effort to delay certification if the ballot arrangement affected the result. Alaska is asking the court to dismiss that case.