Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina declined to commit to accepting the Alaska Senate election results if Democrat Mary Peltola is certified as the winner. During an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” the Republican senator instead predicted victory for incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and criticized alleged Democratic efforts to recruit another candidate with a similar name.
Moderator Kristen Welker asked Scott whether he would accept the outcome if Peltola won certification of the Senate seat. Scott responded, “Dan Sullivan is going to win, Kristen.” He said that prediction was the only answer he would give, without addressing whether he would recognize a certified Peltola victory.
Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also accused Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee of collusion. His comments followed a New York Times report published Wednesday alleging that Democrats had sought to recruit Dan J. Sullivan as a candidate. According to that report, members of Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC, which supports Democratic Senate candidates, were allegedly involved in the effort.
The DSCC responded to the report by saying it “is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan.” Peltola said she had known nothing about other candidates appearing on the ballot apart from herself and the incumbent. Elisa Rios, whom Peltola’s campaign fired as campaign manager in August, took part in interviews with the Times but later said she had retracted all her statements concerning the 2026 Alaska Senate contest.
When Welker repeated the question about accepting the election results, Scott again predicted that the incumbent Sullivan would win. He also asserted that confusing voters was a federal offense. NBC News has previously reported, however, that those involved in recruiting challenger Dan J. Sullivan did not necessarily break the law.
The dispute had already prompted federal legal action before the Times published its report. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in Alaska asking to prevent certification of the Senate election results if incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses. The department pointed to the possibility that voters could be confused by another candidate named Dan Sullivan appearing on the ballot.
After the Times report appeared, President Donald Trump called for both Peltola and challenger Sullivan to be taken off the ballot and prosecuted.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, announced Thursday that he was ordering a state investigation. He said the inquiry would examine whether the alleged scheme broke Alaska law and whether criminal charges or civil action were warranted.
