James Comer and Ron Johnson Drop the Hammer on Democrats Tied to Alaska’s Fake Dan Sullivan Senate Candidacy

Mary Peltola stood in Juneau and swore she knew nothing about a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

Her fired campaign manager had already handed The New York Times a very different story.

Now James Comer wants her answering his questions, right after she tried to take it all back.

Comer and Ron Johnson Sent Letters to Rios and Two Other Operatives

House Oversight Chairman James Comer sent letters to Elisa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager, and Democrat operative Jerid Kurtz calling them in for transcribed interviews.

Comer said Democrats "schemed to rig the U.S. Senate election in Alaska by deliberately confusing voters."

Sen. Ron Johnson opened a second front from the Senate side.

As chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Johnson sent Kurtz, Rios, and a third man, Anton McParland, requests to preserve their records and hand over their communications.

Johnson said Democrat operatives may have crossed into criminal territory.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered a separate state investigation to find out whether Peltola's team broke the law by siphoning votes away from the Republican incumbent.

And Attorney General Todd Blanche's Justice Department was already in federal court before the Times story ever ran.

The DOJ lawsuit, filed October 22, asks the court to block certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and voter confusion over the two names decided the race.

Blanche put it bluntly: "It will be obvious from the results and from the ballots that voters were confused."

Peltola's campaign and the DSCC are trying to get the case tossed, claiming the statute DOJ relied on deals only with registering voters, not with how a ballot is laid out.

The Texts That Turned a Retired Schoolteacher Into a Senate Candidate

The Times obtained text messages in which Peltola campaign members discussed hunting for men who shared the senator's name.

They settled on Dan J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher from the fishing town of Petersburg who had never run for office.

Senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were on those texts, according to the report.

The Times also described a Midwestern operative using a fake name to pitch would-be candidates at brew pubs.

On the ballot, the real senator appears as "Sullivan, Dan S." and the newcomer appears as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr."

He reportedly switched his registration from unaffiliated to Republican right before the filing deadline, then switched back.

The schoolteacher pulled 2.5 percent in the primary – enough to land a spot in Alaska's four-candidate general election.

Republican state Sen. James Kaufman warned that some voters may simply skip ranking both Sullivans out of "ballot fatigue."

The GOP smelled it from the start.

In June, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom opened an investigation citing "credible allegations" that the filing was meant to trick voters.

The Division of Elections disqualified him, and Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews overturned the decision.

Dan J. Sullivan insisted back then he'd had zero contact with Peltola's campaign.

Peltola hasn't budged: "I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent."

The problem is the woman who ran her campaign.

Rios was fired in August, became one of the Times' main sources, and then tried to retract her statements before the story went to print.

That is exactly why Comer wants to hear from her directly.

Sen. Dan Sullivan went on Hannity and didn't mince words: "This is a scandal at the highest order."

President Trump said Peltola "should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done."

Democrats Already Paid Millions to Pick Their Republican Opponents in 2022

This is not the first time Democrats tried to choose who they'd face in November.

In the 2022 primaries, Democrats poured more than $40 million into boosting six Republicans they believed would be easiest to beat, from Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania to John Gibbs in Michigan.

Democrats sold it as strategy.

Alaska takes that instinct one giant step further – if you can't pick the Republican, manufacture a fake one with the same name.

Under Alaska's ranked-choice system, every voter who ranks only the wrong Sullivan casts a ballot that never reaches the real one.

Peltola already knows how much that system rewards her, because ranked-choice ballots carried her to Congress in the 2022 special election.

Roughly 58,000 Alaskans had cast early ballots before the Times report broke.

Sullivan is right that this seat could decide who controls the United States Senate.

Comer and Johnson need the texts, the operatives, and Elisa Rios – under their questions, on the record, before Alaska certifies a single vote.

Sources:

• Misty Severi, "Comer Opens Probe Into Democratic Plot to Confuse Alaska Voters With Two Candidates Sharing Name," Just The News, October 29, 2026.
• Greg Norman-Diamond, "Peltola Claims She 'Knew Nothing' About Alaska Senate Ballot 'Decoy Dan' Scheme," Fox News, October 30, 2026.
• Robert Schmad, "Peltola Campaign's Alleged Dan Sullivan Spoiler Plot Takes New Turn as DOJ Faces Major Legal Hurdle," Fox News, October 28, 2026.
• Nora Moriarty, "Sen. Dan Sullivan Brands Peltola's Alleged Ballot Scheme a 'Scandal at the Highest Order,'" Fox News, October 28, 2026.
• Ben Whedon, "Trump Blasts Peltola for 'Fraud' Over NYT Report Linking Her to 2nd 'Dan Sullivan,'" Just The News, October 28, 2026.
• Brandon Gillespie, "CLEAN SWEEP: Democratic Meddling in GOP Primaries Paid Off in a Big Way on Election Day," Fox News, November 10, 2022.
• Leo Briceno, "Alaska Sees Nearly 58,000 Early Votes in Sullivan-Peltola Race," Fox News, October 29, 2026.
• Alaska's News Source, "Two Dan Sullivans: Alaska Lt. Gov. Launches Investigation Into Involvement of 'Another Candidate,'" Alaska's News Source, June 8, 2026.