Megyn Kelly slammed CNN’s Dana Bash after a New York Times investigation found that people aligned with Democrats worked to recruit a candidate with the same name as Alaska’s Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in an effort to boost Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s chances.
The Times reported that the appearance of a second Dan Sullivan on the Alaska ballot was no coincidence. According to the investigation, people connected to Peltola’s campaign sought to recruit a candidate with a similar name to the incumbent Republican senator, potentially confusing voters and diverting votes from Sullivan to improve Peltola’s chances of winning.
The Times found that the “ballot composition project” involved Peltola’s lawyers and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which directs the party’s campaign strategy in Senate races across the country.
“The second this happened, we all knew something like this was behind it,” Stu Burguiere said on “The Megyn Kelly Show.” “You know who else knew? Dana Bash.”
CNN anchor Dana Bash questioned Attorney General Todd Blanche about a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s Senate election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses under circumstances in which votes for a second candidate with the same name may have affected the outcome. Blanche defended the lawsuit, sparring with Bash during Sunday’s “State of the Union.”
“She looks so stupid now,” Kelly said. “Why would she basically vouch for the Peltola campaign? She doesn’t know whether this woman is honest or not. She’s basically going off of she’s a Democrat, so she must be telling the truth.”
Following the publication of the investigation Wednesday, Bash said on air that the effort was not illegal but was a “dirty trick.”
“It’s not illegal and it’s not new,” Bash said. “These are dirty tricks. They are legal dirty tricks. But again, at a time when you have a president and his supporters, particularly those with very big platforms trying to undermine the election.”
Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-Alaska) is seeking a third term against former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat. But another Dan J. Sullivan is also in the race. According to on-the-record interviews with The New York Times, the second Sullivan had no interest in running for office but said “he hated Trump, and if it was going to help Mary, he liked Mary [Peltola].”
“It’s amazing they got this guy to speak on mic, and then he went dark, and so did the operative, who have remained dark. But text messages viewed by The Times show officials with the DSCC and the Peltola campaign communicating for months about the project,” Kelly said. “They were very stupid. It was all in writing. There are plenty of records, and this woman [Elisa Rios, Ms. Peltola’s former campaign manager and longtime aide] gave away the farm.”
Dan J. Sullivan maintains that he entered the race of his own volition, despite The New York Times’ reporting, which included extensive text messages documenting the effort. The operation began in the summer of 2025, when campaign aides sought to recruit potential spoiler candidates onto the state’s unusual four-person ballot, according to Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, who spoke with the Times.
The Trump administration has also filed a lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying the Senate election results if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses under circumstances in which votes intended for him may have been cast for Dan J. Sullivan. President Donald Trump said he personally directed the Justice Department to bring the suit, which argues that the presence of the second Sullivan on the ballot could confuse voters. The department amended its complaint Thursday to incorporate details from the Times’ investigation, alleging that the reported recruitment effort amounted to a conspiracy. Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied involvement in recruiting the candidate.
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