What are the key takeaways from this The Daily (NYT) episode?

Key insights include: **Ballot stacking mechanics:** Democrats compiled a list of every Dan Sullivan in Alaska, then deployed Ohio operative Jared Kurtz — sometimes using the pseudonym "Zane" — to approach candidates under false pretenses, concealing who he worked for. The goal was recruiting same-name candidates to siphon Republican votes away from incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.; **How the scheme unraveled:** Peltola's fired campaign manager, Elisa Rios, became the key source after her August dismissal. Reporters pursuing a separate story about Peltola's management style — including allegations of verbal abuse and shoving staff — inadvertently surfaced Rios, whose account ultimately confirmed Democratic coordination with Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy.; **Ranked-choice voting as a partial safeguard:** Alaska's ranked-choice system means Republican voters who mistakenly rank Dan J. Sullivan first but place Senator Sullivan second will still have their vote transferred to the incumbent once Dan J. is eliminated. This mechanism reduces, but does not eliminate, the confusion risk the scheme was designed to exploit.

What did Kellen Browning discuss on The Daily (NYT)?

NYT reporter Kellen Browning reveals how Democratic operatives connected to Mary Peltola's Alaska Senate campaign secretly recruited a man named Dan J. Sullivan to run against Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, aiming to split the GOP vote in a race that could determine Senate control. Key topics include: **Ballot stacking mechanics:** Democrats compiled a list of every Dan Sullivan in Alaska, then deployed Ohio operative Jared Kurtz — sometimes using the pseudonym "Zane" — to approach candidates under false pretenses, concealing who he worked for. The goal was recruiting same-name candidates to siphon Republican votes away from incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.; **How the scheme unraveled:** Peltola's fired campaign manager, Elisa Rios, became the key source after her August dismissal. Reporters pursuing a separate story about Peltola's management style — including allegations of verbal abuse and shoving staff — inadvertently surfaced Rios, whose account ultimately confirmed Democratic coordination with Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy..

How long is this episode of The Daily (NYT)?

This episode is 26 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

The Daily (NYT)

A Plan for Two Dans: How Democrats Manipulated Alaska’s Ballot

October 29, 2026

26 min episode · 2 min read

Kellen Browning

Episode

26 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Leadership, Design & UX, Science & Discovery

AI-Generated Summary

Published Oct 29, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓Ballot stacking mechanics: Democrats compiled a list of every Dan Sullivan in Alaska, then deployed Ohio operative Jared Kurtz — sometimes using the pseudonym "Zane" — to approach candidates under false pretenses, concealing who he worked for. The goal was recruiting same-name candidates to siphon Republican votes away from incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
✓How the scheme unraveled: Peltola's fired campaign manager, Elisa Rios, became the key source after her August dismissal. Reporters pursuing a separate story about Peltola's management style — including allegations of verbal abuse and shoving staff — inadvertently surfaced Rios, whose account ultimately confirmed Democratic coordination with Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy.
✓Ranked-choice voting as a partial safeguard: Alaska's ranked-choice system means Republican voters who mistakenly rank Dan J. Sullivan first but place Senator Sullivan second will still have their vote transferred to the incumbent once Dan J. is eliminated. This mechanism reduces, but does not eliminate, the confusion risk the scheme was designed to exploit.
✓Legal versus ethical distinction: No evidence of illegal activity emerged. Ballot stacking is a documented tactic used by both parties — Republican-aligned super PACs boosted Democratic primary candidates in Alaska earlier the same year. Legal experts assessed the DOJ's lawsuit challenging election certification as weak, and the Alaska Supreme Court already upheld both Sullivans remaining on the ballot.
✓Ballot design amplifies confusion risk: On the actual Alaska ballot, Dan J. Sullivan's name appears directly above Dan S. Sullivan's. The only differentiator is a mostly lowercase parenthetical reading "registered Republican, incumbent" beside the senator's name. Voters who do not read carefully or do not complete all ranked-choice selections remain vulnerable to misdirecting their vote.

What It Covers

NYT reporter Kellen Browning reveals how Democratic operatives connected to Mary Peltola's Alaska Senate campaign secretly recruited a man named Dan J. Sullivan to run against Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, aiming to split the GOP vote in a race that could determine Senate control.

Key Questions Answered

•Ballot stacking mechanics: Democrats compiled a list of every Dan Sullivan in Alaska, then deployed Ohio operative Jared Kurtz — sometimes using the pseudonym "Zane" — to approach candidates under false pretenses, concealing who he worked for. The goal was recruiting same-name candidates to siphon Republican votes away from incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
•How the scheme unraveled: Peltola's fired campaign manager, Elisa Rios, became the key source after her August dismissal. Reporters pursuing a separate story about Peltola's management style — including allegations of verbal abuse and shoving staff — inadvertently surfaced Rios, whose account ultimately confirmed Democratic coordination with Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy.
•Ranked-choice voting as a partial safeguard: Alaska's ranked-choice system means Republican voters who mistakenly rank Dan J. Sullivan first but place Senator Sullivan second will still have their vote transferred to the incumbent once Dan J. is eliminated. This mechanism reduces, but does not eliminate, the confusion risk the scheme was designed to exploit.
•Legal versus ethical distinction: No evidence of illegal activity emerged. Ballot stacking is a documented tactic used by both parties — Republican-aligned super PACs boosted Democratic primary candidates in Alaska earlier the same year. Legal experts assessed the DOJ's lawsuit challenging election certification as weak, and the Alaska Supreme Court already upheld both Sullivans remaining on the ballot.
•Ballot design amplifies confusion risk: On the actual Alaska ballot, Dan J. Sullivan's name appears directly above Dan S. Sullivan's. The only differentiator is a mostly lowercase parenthetical reading "registered Republican, incumbent" beside the senator's name. Voters who do not read carefully or do not complete all ranked-choice selections remain vulnerable to misdirecting their vote.

Notable Moment

Days before the election, Browning traveled to Petersburg, Alaska, where Dan J. Sullivan personally drove him and a photographer from the airport, gave them a scenic tour, and pointed out humpback whales — all while denying any Democratic coordination, a claim Browning's subsequent reporting directly contradicted.

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Episode Transcript

Wouldn't it be great if life's little upgrades didn't feel like a splurge? Like getting the aisle seat with extra leg room for a one hour flight, ordering extra guac with zero hesitation, or paying for assembly on that swing set because you'd rather spend your Saturday doing literally anything else. It's called living filthy comfortable. And whatever filthy comfortable looks like to you, Schwab can help you find it with investing, trading, education, and human help all in one place. Learn more at schwab.com. Investing involves risk, including loss of principle. From the New York Times, I'm Michael Bilbara. This is The Daily. Control of the Senate may come down to Dan Sullivan, but which Dan Sullivan? A new investigation from The Times has uncovered the real story of how two different candidates named Dan Sullivan ended up on the ballot for US senate in Alaska and the secret role that Democrats played in making it happen. I'm talking about the real Dan Sullivan, not the fake Dan Sullivan. Not the Dan Sullivan put up by the Democrats. This fake Dan Sullivan guy is not in it to win it. He's in it to rig it. It's just a guy with the same name. Dirty trick. Today, political reporter Kellen Browning takes us inside the political scheme and explains what it now means for a race that could determine which party controls the US Senate. It's Thursday, October 29. Kellen, welcome to The Daily. It's nice to have you here. Yeah. Thanks for having me. My pleasure. You come to us with what I think may qualify as the biggest last minute revelation of this midterm election, at least as of this moment, which is a few days left before the election. So tell us about what you found. Yeah. For months in Alaska, Republicans have been crying foul about the senate race there. They have a Republican senator running for reelection named Dan Sullivan. But back in May, another Dan Sullivan entered the race, and they immediately said this is obviously part of a democratic plot to confuse voters because in Alaska, there will be four candidates on the ballot next week. Mary Paltola, a Democrat, is one of them. Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican, is another. And then there's gonna be another Dan Sullivan on the ballot. And so Republicans said this was clearly some sort of Democratic plot to get voters to vote for the wrong Dan Sullivan. Mhmm. But for months, this Dan Sullivan has said he entered the race on his own accord. And Democrats, including Mary Paltola's campaign, have said they have no connection to this Dan Sullivan. Right. Democrats have been really emphatic on this point. We had nothing to do with this. This is just a crazy Republican conspiracy theory. Yeah. Democrats have maintained the stance throughout legal efforts by Republicans to remove him from the ballot, which ultimately failed. And that was even true as recently as last week when …

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