Alaska senator says he will accept election results amid ballot dispute

Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan says he will accept the results of his race against Democrat Mary Peltola, even as a dispute over another candidate named Dan Sullivan prompts a federal lawsuit and a state investigation.

“No, I’m going to accept the election results,” Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper when asked whether he would accept the outcome only if he won. Sullivan said he was focused on winning rather than on a possible legal challenge to Peltola’s campaign.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, gave a different response when asked on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” whether he would accept the results if Peltola were certified as the winner. “Dan Sullivan is going to win, Kristen,” Scott told moderator Kristen Welker. “You know that, and that’s the only thing I’m going to tell you because it’s the truth.” Pressed again, Scott said, “Dan Sullivan, the real Dan Sullivan, will win,” and added that “it actually is a federal offense to confuse voters.”

The questions follow a New York Times report Wednesday that Democrats allegedly sought to recruit Dan J. Sullivan to run against incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. According to NBC News, the reported effort allegedly involved members of Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The Guardian described the alleged aim as drawing votes away from the Republican incumbent.

The DSCC said it “is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan.” Peltola said she “knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.” At a campaign event, she also told a reporter she had “no idea” whether any of her staff were involved, The Guardian reported.

Sullivan questioned that denial in his CNN interview. “She’s continually lying to the Alaskan people,” he said. “And I guarantee you, she’s lying right now.” Scott accused Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC of “collusion.”

NBC News reported that Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, participated in interviews with The New York Times but later said she retracted “all statements made regarding the 2026 Alaska Senate race.” Rios was fired in August, according to NBC News.

Before the Times report appeared, the Justice Department sued in Alaska to block certification of the Senate election results if the incumbent Sullivan loses, citing possible voter confusion over the shared name, NBC News reported. After the report, President Donald Trump called for Peltola and Dan J. Sullivan to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Thursday that he had ordered a state investigation into whether the alleged scheme violated Alaska law and whether criminal charges or civil action were warranted. NBC News reported that those who worked to recruit Dan J. Sullivan did not necessarily break the law.

The Washington Post also reported that a Republican super PAC promoted two Senate candidates in Alaska’s primaries who did not live in the state, praising them as “progressives” similar to Bernie Sanders, according to The Guardian.