President Trump on Wednesday called for Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola to leave the race and face criminal prosecution following revelations that her allies helped bring another candidate named Sullivan onto the ballot.

“Mary Peltola should resign from the race. I think she should be prosecuted criminally for what she did,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before traveling to Ohio to campaign for Republican candidates.

Trump said any Peltola allies who helped recruit Daniel J. Sullivan to compete against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan should also face criminal charges. The duplicate surname created a potentially confusing twist in the closely watched Alaska contest.

The New York Times reported that top Peltola aides were behind the recruitment effort. Peltola had initially denied involvement, but the report said she was “definitely aware” of the effort.

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“They said they didn’t do it, and they did do it, and they got caught. And in fact, it was a plot by the Democrat Party, and frankly, they should be, I think they should be prosecuted. To me, that’s voter fraud at the highest level,” Trump said.

The Justice Department is conducting an “aggressive criminal investigation” into Daniel J. Sullivan’s appearance on the ballot, according to Fox News. Subpoenas are expected to be issued in the coming days as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding his candidacy.

Cell phone companies have been directed to preserve text messages and emails. The Times cited such communications in its timeline describing how Daniel J. Sullivan was recruited to join the Alaska Senate race.

The Justice Department investigation has been underway for months but intensified following the latest reporting. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska is handling the investigation, and possible charges could involve the deprivation of Alaska voters’ rights.

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Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, discussed the effort to bring Daniel J. Sullivan, whom critics call “Decoy Dan,” into the contest. Rios was removed during a dramatic campaign staff overhaul in August.

“Alaskan voters need to know,” Rios said. “There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions,” she added.

Rios said Peltola was not directly involved in recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan but was “definitely aware.” That distinction did little to quiet the growing questions surrounding the campaign and its knowledge of the ballot maneuver.

There is an “aggressive criminal investigation” into the Democrat Election Interference Plot in Alaska and it has “intensified” after today’s NYT report.

Multiple grand jury subpoenas are expected in the coming days. https://t.co/Gly6xOICD0 — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 28, 2026

Aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were also involved in the effort. The gambit was intended to pull votes from Sen. Sullivan through voter confusion, though the DSCC denied involvement.

“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” Peltola’s campaign told The Post. “Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC.”

Peltola’s campaign also directed The Post to examples of Republican spoiler efforts in Democratic races. The Post contacted representatives for Daniel J. Sullivan as questions continued to mount over how he entered the contest.

Alaska officials attempted to reduce confusion by identifying Sen. Sullivan as the incumbent and including the candidates’ initials on the ballot. Peltola is the only Democrat on the four-candidate ballot after Democrat David Leslie dropped out following a successful pressure campaign by Democrats.

Leslie had originally qualified for the top four. The winner of the Nov. 3 election will be determined through ranked-choice voting.

Peltola finished first in the open primary held in August. She holds a 1.2-point advantage over Sen. Sullivan in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls.

Republicans were raising objections about the race before Wednesday’s report. At Trump’s direction, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying Peltola as the winner if Daniel J. Sullivan remains on the ballot.

Alaska officials moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the state elections division “has taken significant steps to distinguish” the two Sullivans so “voters can easily determine which candidate is which.”

The state filing also argued that “the United States lacks authority to intervene in state elections at all, much less in support of a favored candidate.” It added that “the complaint has no legal basis.”

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ordered the case expedited because of the approaching election. She could rule on the motions seeking dismissal as early as Friday night.

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