Super PACs spent $2 million to put unknown candidates on Alaska's ballot

The New York Times reported Wednesday that operatives aligned with Mary Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked to recruit Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg and other candidates onto Alaska's ballot. The report substantiates claims Republicans and incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan have made for months. "Alaskan voters need to know," said Elisa Rios, a fired Peltola campaign manager, told the Times. "There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions."

The New York Times reported that the Peltola campaign, its lawyers and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee engaged in secret efforts to recruit Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg and other challengers. The goal was to draw votes away from Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, a tactic known as ballot composition. Alaska Public Media has not independently confirmed the Times' reporting.

Super PACs spent more than $2 million this summer trying to elevate political unknowns to Alaska's general election ballot. The aim was not to help them win office, but to disadvantage a major candidate.

The Peltola campaign responded by email. "The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign," it said. "Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC." The press release did not say whether Peltola herself was involved in the recruitment. Alaskans for Mary did not file a statement of organization until January of this year, after many incidents described in the Times story occurred. The Petersburg candidate did not respond to inquiries by KFSK, an affiliate of Alaska Public Media.

President Trump posted about the story on his social media network. "Mary Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done, A FRAUD ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, and Dan Sullivan should be allowed to run without either Mary Peltola or FAKE Dan Sullivan on the Ballot," he wrote. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski wrote that recruiting candidates to stack the ballot is wrong. "Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign," she wrote.

Libby Bakalar, an attorney who used to work for the state and represented the Division of Elections, said what the Times uncovered does not matter much from a legal perspective. "Not a single illegal thing happened here," she said by text. "Anyone has the right to strategically recruit candidates in a system where there is open ballot access."

In Petersburg, residents who have known Dan J. Sullivan for decades had a hard time reconciling the picture painted in the Times report. Erica Kludt-Painter said she does not believe he worked behind the scenes with Democrats to stack the ballot. "I just don't see him being involved in a national conspiracy," she said. "I'm sorry, I just don't. I know him to be a man of integrity who cares about his community and the people in it."