Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have been involved in an alleged effort to influence Alaska’s Senate race, according to Senate Minority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Published reporting has alleged that people working for Rep. Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign and senior staff at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee helped recruit another candidate named Dan Sullivan to challenge the incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. National Democrats have denied involvement.
Barrasso told reporters he believes the effort had support from Democratic leaders. He accused the Peltola campaign and Schumer of spending more than a year trying to find and persuade a second Dan Sullivan to run, with the aim of confusing voters. Barrasso described the alleged effort as criminal, though the accusations have not been established as fact.
Schumer’s office and Peltola’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
The controversy has prompted legal disputes in Alaska and beyond, and drawn criticism from Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Murkowski said ballot-stacking should not be part of elections and called on Peltola and her campaign to be candid about what happened. She accused them of a pattern of deception.
Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system adds to concerns about possible voter confusion: both candidates named Dan Sullivan, Peltola and Gerald Heikes are set to appear on the same ballot.
Speaking at an event in Juneau on Thursday, Peltola said she wanted to address the issue. She said she knew only about herself and the incumbent as candidates, denied trying to mislead voters and said she believed she could defeat Sullivan.
The alleged plan was intended to confuse voters about which Dan Sullivan was running, potentially benefiting Peltola. Barrasso said he expected the incumbent to win, but argued the allegations showed Democrats had little respect for Alaska voters. He called those involved dishonest and criticized the alleged effort as deeply cynical.
