The Republican National Committee rejected the narrative that both parties engage in similar tactics after a New York Times report exposed Democrat-linked efforts to recruit a second "Dan Sullivan" onto Alaska’s Senate ballot, saying Republicans are focused solely on securing elections while Democrats are "trying to be fraudulent."
"No, both sides of the aisle don’t do this," RNC election integrity communications director Ally Triolo told Fox News Digital on Thursday. "Our entire effort here at the RNC is securing elections, making them fair and free and honest."
"We are doing the exact opposite of what Democrats are trying to do. Democrats have voted time and time again against the Save America Act. They have voted against common sense safeguards.
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"We couldn't be more different from Republicans versus Democrats, and I honestly hope people see this straight in the eye with what's happened out of Alaska, that Democrats are completely disingenuous. They have ill intentions. They're trying to disenfranchise voters, and of course trying to be fraudulent.
"This is fraudulent behavior, and they need to be held accountable to the fullest extent."
The Times reported Wednesday that Senate nominee Mary Peltola’s campaign, aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and others worked to place a retired teacher named Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot.
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"Republicans, we tried to fight this months ago and draw attention to this Democrat scheme," Triolo said. "And look, no wonder Democrats are against election integrity because they don't want to be held accountable for trying to disenfranchise voters and cheat the system."
"It has been abundantly clear from the get-go that this was a ploy to try to sway voters, confuse voters, take votes away from the real Sen. Dan Sullivan," she added. "And that is exactly why you saw the DOJ intervene just last week to make sure there were protections in place before the election could be certified to make sure everything was above board. And now we have this bombshell report coming out exposing exactly what we have been saying, and I think this points to the larger issue of Democrats continually fighting election integrity, because again, they have admitted that they cannot win fair and square when safeguards are in place."
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The RNC election integrity unit has a major on-the-ground operation in Alaska, she said, including an in-state director, attorneys, observers and poll workers, and that President Donald Trump and the Justice Department have already moved to address the issue.
The DOJ last week sued to block certification of a potential Peltola win if votes for the second Sullivan could have changed the outcome, and a senior DOJ official told Fox News on Thursday that the criminal investigation has intensified, with officials examining possible civil-rights violations under 18 U. S. C. §§ 241 and 242.
Vice President JD Vance said authorities should "certainly look into whether [Peltola] committed election fraud," describing the effort as an attempt to "steal a Senate seat." Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it a "coordinated effort" and "totally dirty pool."
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There is an "aggressive criminal investigation" into Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. appearing on the ballot, sources told Fox News. That investigation has only intensified since the Times' reporting but has been underway for several months.
This investigation, being run by the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska, is expected to go beyond Tuesday's Election Day, and there will not be any sort of indictment or heavy grand jury activity before then.
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The DOJ thus far has declined to comment on the matter.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has also ordered a state investigation. Peltola’s campaign and DSCC officials have denied involvement in recruiting the second Sullivan to confuse voters, issuing warnings that "both sides" put up spoiler candidates in elections.
The Alaska Supreme Court previously ruled the second Dan Sullivan could remain on the ballot under state law.
"The RNC is heavily invested in protecting the vote in Alaska since this scheme came out," Triolo said. "We've been fighting it, drawing attention to it, doing everything we can to educate voters.
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"We are heavily invested in securing Alaska and obviously this scheme is an absolute fraud. You saw President Trump come forward and say that Mary Peltola, the fake Dan Sullivan, all of these individuals should be held accountable not only for lying about their affiliation with the scheme, but also just for trying to deceive voters.
"We are seeing this play out in real time. Even The New York Times, the left-wing media, has no choice but to hold them accountable for their schemes.
"So I think what we need to stay focused on, as Republicans, is that we need to keep the majority. This is why this midterm election feels like a presidential because so much is at stake."
Fox News' David Spunt, William Mears and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.