Alaska has stepped into the national spotlight following The New York Times report showing operatives working for Mary Peltola intentionally recruited Dan J. Sullivan from Petersburg to run as a spoiler candidate. Many non-Alaskans are now responding to the ballot-stacking scheme we Alaskans already knew was happening. The evidence of Petersburg Dan’s intent to confuse himself with the incumbent Senator Sullivan was obvious from the beginning. Just as obvious as the Alaska GOP’s reason for fighting in court to keep incarcerated felon Eric Hafner on the ballot for U.S. Representative. Alaskans are not oblivious to this “ends justify the means” mentality.
Most Alaskans voters are independent, including myself, partly because we see both parties engaged in manipulative strategies. None of this should surprise us. There will always be plenty of ammo to shoot at the other side. There will always be political operatives who think they are smarter than us voters. But at the end of the day, Alaskans— not out-of-state strategists and donors— sit down with the ballot and make the decisions for our state. The problem is that conservative independents often do not show up. We need to show up.
There is no doubt Mary Peltola is a deceptive person. I knew that from the moment her campaign began and wrote about it back in January: Opinion: Peltola, AÂ Prime Example of Political Deception. Petersburg Dan’s intent was also clear from the beginning, so clear the Alaska Division of Elections initially removed him from the ballot after finding he had not filed in good faith. The Alaska Supreme Court ordered Petersburg Dan back on the ballot, but not because they determined his intent was genuine. The Court ruled that the State cannot prevent ballot access based on motive. Most Alaskans know Petersburg Dan’s intent is not genuine, and his campaign is only a Democrat strategy to mislead voters and advantage Peltola. The primary results corroborate this.
However, despite Petersburg Dan only receiving 2.4% of the primary votes, he still advanced to the general election ballot because of Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system. Thankfully, Alaskans have a chance to repeal the wild system— which is even outlawed in some states— that put Petersburg Dan on the general election ballot. Vote YES on 2 to end the mess of ranked-choice voting.
Election time is exhausting, especially for folks whose lives do not revolve around political strategy, which is most Alaskans. While most Alaskans choose to keep politics at arm’s length, we are not unaware of its realities. Often, it is our understanding of those realities that motivate our desire to simply say, “to hell with it all, I’m going to live my life.” Unfortunately, this mentality leads many Alaskans to place voting low on their list of priorities, leading to an often-dismal voter turnout, especially among young Alaskans.
However, if Peltola’s Double Dan Scheme has done anything, it has sent a clear message to Alaskans: political parties think you are unintelligent and manipulatable. I say, let’s prove them wrong. Regardless of what happens in the Courts— and much has taught us not to look to the Courts for help— the people have the power. We have the right and responsibility to exercise that power. If we do not, we are only allowing a minority of political pundits and strategists to rule us.
So, why vote to re-elect Senator Dan Sullivan? It is not about moral high ground or political strategies. It is because Senator Dan Sullivan has a real record of getting policies over the line that are good for Alaska, and no other candidate in the race has that.
Talk with a Democrat about The New York Times report and they are likely to rage about some similar Republican tactic. But they cannot make up a record for Peltola. They cannot erase Senator Sullivan’s real work. Strip away the strategies, the manipulation, the deception and you are left with two very different resumes. Senator Sullivan has been trusted to represent Alaskans since 2015, working to secure the largest Coast Guard investment in American history, eliminate tax on tips and overtime, and fighting the Biden-era lock up of our natural resources. Peltola, on the other hand, served three years in the U.S. House of Representatives, losing her re-election bid in 2024, and failed to sponsor a single bill that got passed into law. Lots more can be said, but the differences in real experience and record are sufficient for Alaskans to re-elect Senator Dan Sullivan.
Learn more about Senator Sullivan’s record here: The Ultimate 2026 Conservative Voter Guide Part I – Must Read Alaska
When Peltola’s abusive conduct toward staff was revealed, some Democrat diehards tried their best to smooth it over, and they will do the same with the New York Times reporting as well. But as I wrote in response to liberal Matt Shulz’s argument supporting Peltola after her abusive conduct, no amount of smoothing over will erase the records.
Your vote says who you think has the better policies on the things that will affect our lives like energy, economics, schools, healthcare, etc. Sullivan has my vote because his policies are better for Alaska and America than Peltola’s policies. He has earned that vote by strengthening the U.S. Coast Guard with historic investments, cutting taxes, supporting Trump’s military action to stop Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, writing legislation to protect domestic abuse survivors, writing legislation to protect kids from predatory technology, opposing transgender ideology, and supporting resource development.
Peltola’s liberal policies will shut down resource development, increase taxes, prioritize the environment over real human lives, suppress or reject the science about the harms of transgender interventions and abortion, and grow the poor’s dependency on the government.
Peltola and Petersburg Dan should face consequences for their deception. The Courts are working that out as we speak, but they cannot always be trusted to dole out the right consequences. The one for-sure way for Alaskans to say, “hell no” to Peltola and the Democrat’s actions this election cycle and protect conservative policies is to SHOW UP and vote Dan S. Sullivan (registered Republican) Incumbent and vote Yes on ballot measure 2.
Early voting for the 2026 general election is underway. Do your part— go vote today!
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