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Trump demands Alaska candidates be removed over alleged ballot scheme

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Al Jazeera Staff. (2026, October 29). Trump demands Alaska candidates be removed over alleged ballot scheme. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/29/trump-demands-alaska-candidates-be-removed-over-alleged-ballot-scheme?traffic_source=rss

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Al Jazeera · collected 2026-10-29 · by Al Jazeera Staff

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump has demanded that two candidates be removed from Alaska’s Senate race, alleging a scheme by Democrats to mislead voters and split Republican Senator Dan Sullivan's support. This accusation stems from a New York Times investigation which revealed efforts by people linked to Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign to recruit similar-sounding names like the retired teacher Daniel J Sullivan Jr., who shares a name with the incumbent but is running independently. Trump called for both candidates to be removed and prosecuted, describing it as "Voter Fraud at the Highest Level," though recruiting such candidates is generally legal in Alaska and has been used by both parties historically.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Mary Peltola's campaign, running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska against incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan, was involved in efforts to place another candidate named Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot to confuse voters. According to reports from The New York Times and other outlets, text messages between members of Peltola’s team discussed recruiting individuals with the same name as their opponent. Election authorities attempted to disqualify the second Dan Sullivan but failed to do so in time for the election.

The plan also reportedly involved creating a third-party "MAGA party" to siphon votes from incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, though this idea was eventually abandoned. The race is seen as crucial because it could determine which party controls the Senate, with Democrats currently holding 47 seats compared to Republicans' 53.

On election day and in the immediate aftermath, Republican supporters expressed concern that they might have mistakenly voted for "Decoy Dan" Sullivan instead of incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan, raising fears about potential vote confusion. The New York Times investigation also revealed efforts by a Democratic PAC to send voter guides replacing Sen. Dan Sullivan with the spoiler candidate.

Incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan has accused Democrats of engaging in election cheating, highlighting this as one of the most significant election controversies in Alaska's history.

Written for “Alaska Senate Race Controversy” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 101 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Alaska Senate Race Controversy
Politics · 102 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Report on alleged ‘second Dan Sullivan’ effort emerges after nearly 1 in 10 Alaskans voted Same event
Fox News
Hedges 5 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
Sullivan, Peltola seek support from Alaska Native voters ahead of crucial Senate race Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 31 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events: one about candidates seeking support from Alaska Native voters, and another about Trump demanding the removal of the candidates over alleged ballot scheme.”
Trump has no designs on taking over state elections, says US attorney-general Different event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different actions and timelines involving Trump: one about a lawsuit to block election certification, another about demanding candidates be removed due to alleged ballot scheme.”
Trump VS California Different event
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Centre Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe separate incidents involving different states and political issues.”
Trump admin demands Washington set aside 400 ballots it says are from noncitizens Different event
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 14 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles describe different actions taken by the Trump administration in two separate states regarding alleged voter irregularities.”
Trump Vows to Send Election “Monitors” to Maine After Far-Right Conspiracies Spread Different event
The Intercept
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 9 of 64 claims Outlet record 97/100
“The articles describe different events involving President Trump, one in Maine and another in Alaska, concerning distinct allegations related to elections.”
Trump says Peltola and other Dan Sullivan should be thrown off the ballot after NYT report Same event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 69/100
Trump demands Alaska ballot change after report on Dems recruiting Dan Sullivan to campaign Same event
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 34 claims Outlet record 59/100
Trump calls for Alaska Dem candidate Mary Peltola to drop out, face prosecution days before midterm election Same event
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
Trump says Peltola "shouldn't be allowed to run" due to second Dan Sullivan Same event
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 65/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
4 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
102
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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2026-10-03
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2026-09-30
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Who wrote this

Al Jazeera Staff
882 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Topics

Alaska Democratic Republican Senate Times

Subjects

Peltola PERSON · 7× Alaska GPE · 6× Trump PERSON · 5× Democratic NORP · 4× Times ORG · 4× Republican NORP · 3× Dan Sullivan PERSON · 2× Democrat NORP · 2× Democrats NORP · 2× Senate ORG · 2×

Narrative

Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Judge rejects Trump effort to block California ‘noncitizen’ ballots - list 2 of 3Who is leading the US midterm polls as Trump and Harris campaign? - list 3 of 3Why
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 Trump’s demand on Wednesday followed a New York Times investigation into efforts by people linked to Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign to recruit candidates who could draw support from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, including a retired teacher with the same name.
2026-10-29 · Al Jazeera
Trump demands Alaska candidates be removed over alleged ballot scheme · assertive framing

Claims (25 extracted, 4 hedged)

US President Donald Trump has called for the removal and prosecution of two candidates in Alaska’s Senate race, accusing Democrats of orchestrating a scheme to mislead voters. asserted
Trump → call → voters
Trump’s demand on Wednesday followed a New York Times investigation into efforts by people linked to Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign to recruit candidates who could draw support from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, including a retired teacher with the same name. uncertain
who → follow → name
Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Judge rejects Trump effort to block California ‘noncitizen’ ballots - list 2 of 3Who is leading the US midterm polls as Trump and Harris campaign? - list 3 of 3Why asserted
Trump → reject → polls
a Democratic win in US midterms could adversely affect Europe uncertain
win → affect → Europe
The November 3 vote could help determine control of the US Senate, Congress’s upper chamber. uncertain
vote → help → Senate
In Truth Social posts on Wednesday, Trump accused Peltola and Daniel J Sullivan Jr of election fraud and called for both to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. asserted
both → accuse → ballot
He described the alleged operation as “Voter Fraud at the Highest Level” and accused Democrats of lying under oath. asserted
He → describe → oath
The Times noted that recruiting candidates to split an opponent’s vote – a practice known as ballot stacking – is generally legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska. asserted
recruiting → note → Alaska
The two Sullivans are among four candidates in Alaska’s ranked-choice election. asserted
Sullivans → rank → election
Voters rank candidates by preference, with votes transferred if a first choice is eliminated. asserted
choice → rank → preference
The ballot identifies the sitting senator as an incumbent Republican. asserted
ballot → identify → Republican
His namesake says he entered the race independently. asserted
he → say → race
The Times reported that the effort began in 2025, when a Peltola aide was asked to identify Alaskans named Dan Sullivan. asserted
aide → report → Alaskans
Citing interviews and messages, it said Peltola advisers and officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which supports Democratic Senate candidates, discussed ways to reshape the ballot. asserted
which → cite → ballot
The newspaper identified Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz as a recruiter who approached potential candidates, sometimes under an assumed name. asserted
who → identify → name
It also reported that another Democrat withdrew after an approach from Kurtz, opening a place for Republican Gerald Heikes, who said he too had been encouraged to run. asserted
he → report → Heikes
Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, told the Times that Peltola knew about the operation but did not participate directly. asserted
Peltola → tell → operation
Rios later sought to withdraw her statements and the newspaper said other evidence supported its reporting. asserted
evidence → seek → reporting
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic campaign committee denied recruiting candidates. asserted
campaign → deny → candidates
Her campaign said political threats from Washington would not stop her candidacy. asserted
threats → say → candidacy
Senator Sullivan accused Peltola of deceiving voters on Fox News on Wednesday. asserted
Sullivan → accuse → Wednesday
Recruiting candidates to divide an opponent’s support is generally legal, the Times noted, and both major parties have used such tactics in Alaska. asserted
parties → recruit → Alaska
The state’s Supreme Court upheld the retired teacher’s right to stand in June. asserted
Court → uphold → June
Trump’s Justice Department, the federal government’s legal arm, sued Alaska last week, seeking to delay certification if Senator Sullivan loses and votes for his namesake could have affected the outcome. uncertain
votes → sue → outcome
Alaska has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it lacks legal grounds. asserted
it → ask → grounds
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