The Aporia · Sullivan claims Peltola is 'still lying' about campaign's involvement in Alaska ballot controversy

Sullivan claims Peltola is 'still lying' about campaign's involvement in Alaska ballot controversy

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Riccardi, N. (2026, November 1). Sullivan claims Peltola is 'still lying' about campaign's involvement in Alaska ballot controversy. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/sullivan-claims-peltola-is-still-lying-about-campaign-s-involvement-in-alaska-ballot-controversy/article_08fa3403-8d43-5250-89f5-ba1d708a1d37.html

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Quick Summary

Dan Sullivan, the Republican senator, claims that his Democratic opponent Mary Peltola is lying about her lack of involvement in placing another candidate named Dan Sullivan on Alaska's ballot to confuse voters. This move could affect which party controls the Senate. Republicans believe evidence from a New York Times report supports their claim, showing Peltola’s campaign was behind the effort through payments to operatives recruiting decoy candidates.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Mary Peltola's campaign and senior Democratic officials participated in a secret effort to recruit spoiler candidates against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), including another candidate with the name Dan J. Sullivan, according to a report by The New York Times published on October 28, 2026. This revelation has sparked investigations and controversy, with the FBI visiting donors of 'Decoy Dan' Sullivan as part of an ongoing federal investigation since September. Republicans have criticized this alleged tactic aimed at confusing voters, while Democrats claim Peltola was unaware of her campaign's involvement in recruiting the decoy candidate. The race is crucial for determining which party controls the Senate after the midterms on November 7, 2026.

Written for “FBI Investigates Alaska Senate Campaign Controversy” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 127 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.

Republicans have long suspected that Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, and her campaign were behind the presence of the second Sullivan on the ballot.

right repeats Republican suspicion without attribution or balance

Reading Leans right (beta estimate) Confidence high

Leaning: leans right for article 121486 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-11-01

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 33% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Peltola insists 'I knew nothing' about alleged 'Decoy Dan' scheme as Sullivan alleges she is 'still lying' Same event

Fox News

Hedges 1 of 30 claims Outlet record 69/100

Peltola campaign under fire after report it recruited 2nd Dan Sullivan in Senate race Different event

ABC News (US)

Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 70/100

“Article A describes initial reporting about Peltola's campaign recruiting a second Dan Sullivan, while Article B covers a later response from Senator Sullivan disputing claims by his opponent.”

Peltola says she "knew nothing about" the other Dan Sullivan Different event

CBS News

Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100

“Article A describes Peltola's initial statement about her lack of involvement, while Article B reports Sullivan's response to this claim days later.”

Alaska Senate candidate denies knowing about alleged plot to put two Dan Sullivans on ballot Different event

BBC News

⚖️ Leans right Hedges 5 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100

“While both articles discuss the same controversy involving multiple candidates named Dan Sullivan, Article A reports Peltola's denial and initial developments of an investigation, while Article B focuses on Sullivan's response days later, indicating ongoing debate rather than a single event.”

Dem Mary Peltola doesn’t fully deny involvement in ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme to confuse Alaska voters Different event

New York Post

Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100

“Article A reports on Mary Peltola's initial stance regarding her involvement in recruiting 'Decoy Dan', while Article B describes Senator Sullivan's response and claims several days later.”

Mary Peltola ‘definitely aware’ Dems searched for another Dan Sullivan to confuse voters in Alaska race: bombshell report Different event

New York Post

Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss the same controversy involving Mary Peltola and her campaign's alleged involvement in recruiting a person named Dan Sullivan to confuse voters, they describe different aspects of the ongoing debate—Article A focuses on revelations about Peltola being aware, while Article B is about Sullivan's response to these claims.”

Trump says Peltola "shouldn't be allowed to run" due to second Dan Sullivan Different event

CBS News

Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles describe different reactions to the same incident, not the identical occurrence itself.”

Breaking down the report alleging Mary Peltola's campaign recruited a second Dan Sullivan in Alaska Different event

CBS News

⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss the same controversy involving Mary Peltola's campaign and the presence of a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, Article A breaks down a report alleging the involvement, while Article B covers Senator Sullivan's response to that allegation.”

JASON CHAFFETZ: Democrats tried to trick Alaska voters. Peltola must answer Different event

Fox News

⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 1 of 31 claims Outlet record 69/100

“While both articles discuss the same controversy involving Mary Peltola's campaign and an additional candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan, Article A focuses on reporting from the New York Times about the initial allegations and efforts by Peltola’s team, while Article B covers Senator Dan Sullivan's reaction to these claims days later.”

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan slams Democratic rival Mary Peltola over alleged ballot scheme, calling it ‘scandal of the highest order’ Different event

New York Post

Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss Sen. Dan Sullivan's criticisms of Mary Peltola over alleged ballot scheme, they describe different aspects and timelines of the incident.”

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

33%

1 of 3 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans right

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

128

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Publisher

Who wrote this

Nicholas Riccardi

18 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said Sunday that he doubted claims by his Democratic opponent that she had no idea her top political aides were involved in recruiting a retired schoolteacher also named Dan Sullivan onto the ballot to confuse voters in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

2026-11-01 · mixed framing · Sullivan claims Peltola is 'still lying' about campaign's involvement in Alaska ballot controversy

🔮 It added there would be no way to do that without violating voter privacy.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Alaska attorneys say 'meritless' Trump demand to set aside Senate ballots is 'disturbing and impossible'

🔮 It also found at least 22 are U.S. citizens, and many more may correspond to those of confirmed citizens.

2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Over 40% of names on DOJ list of alleged noncitizens are not on Calif. voter rolls, analysis finds

🔮 It also found at least 22 are U.S. citizens and many more may correspond to those of confirmed citizens.

2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Over 40% of names on DOJ's 'noncitizen' voter list are not on California's voter rolls, analysis finds

🔮 In Alaska, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is facing three other challengers on the state’s final ballot in a race that could determine control of the Senate — Democrat Mary Peltola, who was previously the state’s lone House member, and two candidates who have barely campaigned, including a retired school teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. Alaska Republicans have long suspected the second Sullivan of being a Democratic plant, and the Trump administration took the unusual step last week of suing to prevent certification of a possible Peltola victory until it could be determined if voters were confused. The New York Times this week reported that internal campaign texts and communications showed the Peltola campaign recruited the second Sullivan, leading the president to call for the Democrat’s prosecution and his Justice Department to issue a flurry of subpoenas in a criminal investigation.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · In Alaska race, Trump targets a long, sometimes sordid political tradition of 'spoiler' candidates

🔮 While Trump maintains some support for his handling of the border, polling shows voters disapprove of his approach to immigration, a striking turnaround that could undermine Republican attempts to maintain control of Congress in the midterms.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · How Trump's immigration crackdown sparked a backlash that could boomerang in the midterms

🔮 The Democratic campaign for Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat was involved in efforts to place on the ballot a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in a bid to confuse voters in a race that could determine which party controls the chamber, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

2026-10-28 · mixed framing · Report: Peltola's campaign involved in effort to recruit second Dan Sullivan for Alaska Senate race

🔮 “The least competitive election of our lifetimes will lead to the least accountable and least representative Congress of our lifetimes.”

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · This US House district was once a political battleground. Now it shows why Congress is dysfunctional

🔮 Now, many like Martinez are souring on the president and his party, which could upend the balance of power in Washington in the Nov. 3 elections.

2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Latino voters helped put Trump back in the White House. What's their next move?

🔮 In Iowa's 2nd district, a region dominated by swine farming, Lindsay James faced scrutiny for supporting "meatless May" in a 2020 Facebook post.

2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Republicans turn America’s love of meat into bizarre midterm election battleground

Also by Nicholas Riccardi

Alaska attorneys say 'meritless' Trump demand to set aside Senate ballots is 'disturbing and impossible'

2026-11-01 · The Independent

Attorneys for Alaska say 'meritless' Trump demand to set aside Senate ballots 'not even possible'

2026-10-31 · Toronto Star

Over 40% of names on DOJ's 'noncitizen' voter list are not on California's voter rolls, analysis finds

2026-10-31 · The Independent

Over 40% of names on DOJ list of alleged noncitizens are not on Calif. voter rolls, analysis finds

2026-10-31 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 18 articles by Nicholas Riccardi →

Narrative

Claims (3 extracted, 1 hedged)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said Sunday that he doubted claims by his Democratic opponent that she had no idea her top political aides were involved in recruiting a retired schoolteacher also named Dan Sullivan onto the ballot to confuse voters in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate. uncertain

party → say → Senate

Republicans have long suspected that Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, and her campaign were behind the presence of the second Sullivan on the ballot. asserted

Peltola → suspect → ballot

They say their suspicions were confirmed by a New York Times report last week that was based on interviews with Peltola’s ex-campaign manager, text messages and campaign finance documents showing that an operative trying to recruit decoy candidates was paid by a group backing Peltola. asserted

operative → say → Peltola

Sullivan claims Peltola is 'still lying' about campaign's involvement in Alaska ballot controversy

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Claims (3 extracted, 1 hedged)