Murkowski Denounces Decoy Candidate Strategy in Alaska Senate Race

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, posted on her personal X account on Wednesday to criticize the campaign of Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. The post marked her first activity on the platform since November 2022, breaking a four-year silence on her private channel. Murkowski accused Peltola’s team of engaging in a pattern of lies and coverups related to a reported ballot-stacking strategy.

The New York Times reported this week that members of Peltola’s team helped recruit a candidate named Dan Sullivan. The recruit, a longtime registered nonpartisan residing in Petersburg, shares the name of incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The report indicated that Democratic operatives sought to confuse voters in the closely watched race, which also features Republican Gerald Heikes. The effort reportedly extended beyond the single recruit, with operatives seeking other candidates to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent.

Murkowski said the report revealed a culture of deception that does not belong in elections. She stated that ballot-stacking has no place in the electoral process and that candidates should win on their views, policy ideas, and accomplishments. The senator added that recruiting candidates to manipulate the field and influence voting outcomes is simply wrong. She demanded that Alaskans receive the honest truth from Peltola and her campaign.

The criticism follows a lawsuit filed by the Trump Justice Department regarding the situation prior to the newspaper report. Murkowski’s official Senate account, which posts regularly, recently highlighted that lawsuit and her visit to the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. Her personal account, however, had featured a Thanksgiving video message as its last entry before this week's statement.

Sullivan told Fox News that the scheme arises when a far left candidate has nothing to run on. Murkowski recently drew attention for endorsing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins over three Republicans: Bernadette Wilson, Treg Taylor, and Dave Bronson. Her father, former Sen. Frank Murkowski, joined her in that announcement. The split Republican field positions Kreiss-Tomkins as the mathematical favorite in the gubernatorial race.

Murkowski was a champion of the ranked-choice system that produced four-person general election ballots in Alaska. The party’s internal dynamics have shifted as voters prepare to cast their ballots. The Democrat’s campaign has not yet responded to the specific accusations regarding the extent of their knowledge about the recruitment effort.