Alaska Democratic Campaign Accused of Recruiting Namesake Straw Candidates
An investigation reveals that Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's team orchestrated a covert plan to recruit namesakes to siphon votes from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, sparking a federal lawsuit.
In the summer of 2025, campaign aides to Mary Peltola, the Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska, received an unusual directive from leadership: find as many residents in the state named Dan Sullivan as possible. The surprising request was not a coincidence. Dan S. Sullivan is the name of the incumbent Republican senator, and the primary objective was to recruit someone with the identical name to run for office, create voter confusion at the ballot box, and siphon critical votes from the political rival.
The sophisticated scheme bore fruit. This past spring, a retired teacher from a remote fishing village named Dan J. Sullivan announced his candidacy for the Senate seat. While Peltola's official campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee strongly denied any involvement in the maneuver, an extensive investigation by The New York Times reveals a completely different picture. According to text messages, legal documents, and interviews, Peltola's team orchestrated a covert operation to recruit straw candidates aimed at diluting Republican support.
The clandestine operation, internally dubbed Project Ballot Train, was facilitated in part by Alaska's unique electoral system, which features nonpartisan open primaries. This system allows any candidate to register their political affiliation without preliminary screening by political parties.
The secret project involved travel to remote destinations and the deployment of a mysterious political operative named Jaryd Kurtz. Kurtz scoured the state under the alias Zane, attempting to persuade candidates to enter the race during meetings over beers at local pubs. In one instance, a contractor named Gerald Heykes was recruited, stating he was promised indirect financial backing if he filed his candidacy.
The incriminating information was brought to light by Alyssa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager who was fired this past August. Rios argued that the electorate deserved to know the full picture. Although she attempted to retract her testimony at the last minute, the intersecting evidence published in The New York Times report corroborates her initial version.
This recent tactic naturally sparked a major legal storm. The U.S. Department of Justice filed an extensive lawsuit in federal court last week, at the direction of U.S. President Donald Trump, demanding a complete block on the certification of the election results. Additionally, documents proved that the Democratic campaign team even considered establishing a fake MAGA party to siphon right-wing Republican voters.
