US Midterm elections 2026: Alaskan in tight Senate race accuses Democrats of 'election cheating'

Hours before polling ended in Tuesday's US midterm elections, Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan accused Democrats of election cheating, bringing an alleged decoy candidate controversy into focus. Sullivan claimed that his Democratic rival Mary Peltola's campaign had recruited a man with the same name as him to split votes. Despite the controversy, retired schoolteacher Daniel J. Sullivan remained on the ballot.

Senator Sullivan, who is endorsed by US President Donald Trump, lashed out at his rival on Election Day.

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"My opponent's campaign is literally focused on misleading Alaskans, lying, and cheating," the 61-year-old told reporters in Anchorage, Alaska's most populous city.

"We are witnessing the biggest election cheating scandal in the history of the state of Alaska -- maybe one of the biggest in the US Senate's history."

Peltola has denied any knowledge of the decoy candidate plot.

"They are running scared. They got nothing," she said at a campaign event, according to a video posted Tuesday to her X account. She did not mention the scandal in the clip.

Polls show her and the senator essentially tied in a race that may well decide which US political party holds the majority in the Senate.

Should Sullivan lose, it could pave the way for Democrats to place a dramatic check on Trump's power in Washington.

Last week The New York Times published a detailed account which claimed that Peltola's campaign helped orchestrate the decoy candidate scheme, which Senator Sullivan said was designed to siphon votes away from the incumbent.

"Unfortunately, the scheme is working," he said. "Thousands, likely, of Alaskans are going to mistakenly throw away their vote."

Trump, fuming over the mischief, has sought to preemptively challenge Alaska's election results. The effort was rejected by a federal judge.

After casting his ballot in Anchorage, Sullivan said he was prepared to accept defeat if that's what the results show, "once every legal vote is counted and certified."

But he believed the scandal, and how it has angered voters, could actually work in his favor.

"I think it drives turnout," he said.

Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the matter.

According to The Washington Post, the US Department of Justice has sent some 20 target letters in connection with the probe, including to a Democratic elections lawyer whose firm is said to represent Peltola.

Sullivan declined to discuss any potential criminal implications.

"I'll let the lawyers and the prosecutors and the FBI make those determinations," Sullivan said.