Democrats Caught Cheating Right Before the Election
Ruthless breaks down explosive new reporting on an alleged Democratic scheme to manipulate Alaska’s Senate race by recruiting candidates to run against Dan Sullivan, raising serious questions for Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer. Plus, King of the Hill returns with Bill Kristol facing Steve Schmidt, and Americans for Prosperity’s Katelyn Bledsoe joins the “progrum” to reveal what voters are saying about affordability, socialism, and the midterms.
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While prominent Democrats have spent years warning about threats to democracy, dozens of lawmakers and governors who endorsed Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola have declined to respond to Digital’s questions about a reported effort to confuse voters and potentially cost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan his seat.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that aides to Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola helped recruit a man named Dan Sullivan to run in an alleged effort to draw votes from Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan – though Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement.
Digital reached out to 42 Democratic lawmakers and governors who endorsed Peltola to ask whether they would denounce the alleged effort to mislead Alaska voters.
As of publication, not a single one has responded.
MARY PELTOLA’S CAMPAIGN, DEMS BACKED COVERT SCHEME TO FIELD SPOILER CANDIDATES IN ALASKA SENATE RACE: REPORT
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Nathaniel Wilder/Bloomberg via Getty Images) ((Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Nathaniel Wilder/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, for instance, stated that “voter suppression is poisonous, it is toxic to our democracy,” in 2022. His colleague, Sen. Chris Murphy, meanwhile, argued in April 2025 that “those of us who believe that the threat to democracy is urgent” need to “act like it.”
And Sen. Cory Booker said in December 2016 that “protecting American democracy is a calling far higher than party politics.”
‘DECOY DAN’ SULLIVAN CASE LEADS TOP SENATOR TO BREAK FOUR-YEAR X SILENCE: ‘PATTERN OF LIES’
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democratic from Alaska and U.S. Senate candidate, right, raise paddles during the 2026 Alaska Fisheries Debate in Kodiak, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Nathaniel Wilder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Despite their outspoken defenses of democracy and insistence that protecting it should transcend party politics, none of these lawmakers responded to Digital’s questions about the alleged effort to mislead Alaska voters.
Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has made a name for himself by publicly breaking with his party on some issues, has also remained mum on the controversy.
Peltola has asserted that her campaign “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The Times, for its investigation, relied on text messages it obtained as well as interviews with former campaign staffers.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Alaska on Oct. 22 seeking to delay certification of the state’s Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and votes cast for the other Sullivan could have changed the outcome, pending an investigation into whether voter confusion played a role in the result.
ALASKA’S GOVERNOR ORDERS INVESTIGATION AFTER NYT REPORT ON ALLEGED DEM-LINKED SENATE ELECTION SCHEME
Dan J. Sullivan, who has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Alaska, poses for a photo in Petersburg, Alaska, on June 26, 2026. (Katie Holmlund/Associated Press)
Legal experts from across the political spectrum who previously spoke to Digital said that the case faces significant challenges, particularly as it relates to trying to infer voter intent from anonymous ballots and overcoming the sovereignty of states over their elections.
Among the other Democratic Senators reached by Digital were Sens. Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, Maggie Hassan, Chuck Schumer, Catherine Cortez Masto, Angela Alsobrooks, Andy Kim, Brian Schatz, Ed Markey, Elissa Slotkin, John Hickenlooper, Jon Ossoff, Kirsten Gillibrand, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Mark Kelly, Michael Bennet, Ruben Gallego, Sheldon Whitehouse and Tammy Duckworth.
The U.S. House members reached by Digital included Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Pappas, Brittany Pettersen, Eric Sorensen, Mike Levin, Hillary Scholten, Jared Huffman, Josh Harder, Pramila Jayapal, Sarah McBride, George Whitesides, Jonathan Nez and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who does not currently hold office but is running to retake his Senate seat, and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, were also asked for their reactions on the reporting.
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Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California, as well as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper – who is in the midst of a Senate campaign – were also reached for comment.
Peltola’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
At least one Democrat has publicly criticized the alleged tactic. Iowa Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand told on Sunday that “both parties are doing it and neither party should be doing it,” calling such efforts “manipulating the political system.”
