Barrasso Says Schumer 'Colluded' With the Peltola Campaign on the Second Dan Sullivan; Schumer's Office and Peltola Did Not Respond
The Senate's No. 2 Republican told Fox News he believes the plan to put a second 'Dan Sullivan' on the Alaska ballot had help from the top. National Democrats say they had no hand in it. Peltola says she knew nothing.
Senate Republican leaders are tying the Alaska ballot fight to Chuck Schumer, Fox News reports.
The accusation. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Senate majority whip, told Fox News Digital he believes Senate Minority Leader Schumer had a hand in the effort to put a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on Alaska's ballot against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. "This is criminal behavior to steal the Alaska Senate race, it's now been fully exposed," Barrasso said. He claimed there is proof the Peltola campaign knew and that Schumer "schemed and colluded with them for over a year."
The background. Fox says The New York Times reported that operatives for Rep. Mary Peltola's Senate campaign, along with top aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, were involved in recruiting another Dan Sullivan to run. National Democrats have said they had no hand in it. Because Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, both men named Sullivan, Peltola and Gerald Heikes will be on the same ballot. The alleged aim, Fox says, was to confuse voters about which Sullivan was which.
The denial. At an event in Juneau on Thursday, Peltola told supporters she wanted to "clear the air." "I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent," she said, adding that she is not interested in tricking voters and can beat Sullivan.
The reaction. Fox notes that Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, wrote on X that ballot-stacking should have no place in elections and that Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Peltola and her campaign. Barrasso said he is confident the incumbent will win, but that the plan showed Democrats "secretly making fun of Alaskan voters for being so easily tricked."
Note for readers: these are allegations and a senator's own account. Fox's report quotes no document or witness showing Schumer's personal role, and Schumer's office and the Peltola campaign did not answer Fox's requests for comment. Our earlier stories on the Alaska race, including Peltola's Juneau remarks and the governor's investigation, are on the site.