Republican senator Dan Sullivan says he will accept Alaska election results

Key points

• Republican Senator Dan Sullivan said he will accept Alaska election results, even if he loses.
• A New York Times investigation alleged Peltola's aides recruited another man named Dan Sullivan to split votes.
• Peltola denies knowledge of the scheme; Republicans have called for her disqualification and prosecution.

Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska said he will accept the results of his upcoming election, telling CNN on Tuesday that he would do so regardless of the outcome. His statement came after a New York Times investigation alleged that aides to his Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, recruited another man who shared Sullivan's name to join the race in an effort to peel away votes from the incumbent.

The alleged ballot-stacking ploy has led Republicans, including Donald Trump, to call for Peltola to be disqualified and criminally prosecuted. Peltola has denied any knowledge of such a scheme by her campaign, recently telling a reporter she had "no idea" if any staff were involved.

Sullivan's CNN interview

Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper whether he would accept the election results only if he won, Sullivan replied: "No, I'm going to accept the election results." Earlier in the interview, Sullivan said he was not focused on how Peltola's campaign might be legally challenged and was instead focused on winning outright.

Sullivan also expressed doubt that Peltola had no knowledge of the effort to put a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot. "She's continually lying to the Alaskan people," he said. "And I guarantee you, she's lying right now."

No, I'm going to accept the election results.

— Dan Sullivan

Republican primary tactics

The Washington Post reported that Republicans also tried to boost unviable Democratic candidates in the Alaska primaries. A Republican Super Pac supported two Senate candidates who did not live in Alaska and praised them as "progressives" similar to Bernie Sanders.