Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and a rival sharing the name of Alaska's Republican incumbent be removed from next week's election ballot, accusing Democrats of an illegal scheme to confuse voters.

His call followed a New York Times investigation reporting that Democratic operatives seeking to defeat Republican Senator Dan Sullivan had secretly recruited so-called "spoiler" candidates, including one also named Dan Sullivan, in an effort to draw votes away from the sitting senator.

"It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He accused Democrats of committing perjury by making false statements under oath in federal court, and demanded that the incumbent be allowed to run without either Peltola or the "FAKE Dan Sullivan" on the ballot.

He told reporters later that Peltola and any other alleged accomplices should be prosecuted. "To me, that's voter fraud at the highest level," he said.

Senator Sullivan expressed outrage at the confusion, which mushroomed into a major campaign headache for Peltola six days before the November 3 election.

"The candidate I'm running against had a scheme for over a year to try to trick Alaskans that shows total contempt for the people of the state," the senator told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

"She's been cheating and lying to Alaskans."

The Times noted that recruiting candidates to split an opponent's vote -- a practice known as ballot stacking -- is generally legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska.

As recently as 2024, little-known former Republican Anthony Frascone beat Democrat Mondaire Jones in a low-turnout Working Families Party primary in New York state.

Jones's campaign and the leftist WFP accused Frascone of being a Republican spoiler. Local Democratic leaders and a group of voters sued to remove him, but a Westchester judge kept him on the ballot.

The Times investigation did not establish criminal wrongdoing in the Alaska case or substantiate Trump's allegation of perjury.

The effort involved senior aides and lawyers for Peltola, as well as officials at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), according to the newspaper, which cited interviews, dozens of text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit against the campaign.

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