Seldom are the Elitist Media as eager to act as a Praetorian Guard for Democrats than when there is a scandal to suppress. Such is the case with the Elitist Media Evening News, which took active measures to soften the impact of the bombshell report from The New York Times which revealed the depths of the conspiracy to deceive Alaskan voters into voting for a Dan Sullivan other than the incumbent Republican Senator.
Worst among these is the most Trump-deranged among the network newscasts: ABC World News Tonight. Watch as Mary Bruce performs industrial-grade firefighting:
WATCH: @ABCWorldNews tries to mitigate the damaging NYT report on Dem Alaska Senate deceptions: By repeating Peltola's denial verbatim, by offering deception isn't illegal, and subsequently by bracketing with rehash of Vivek ad featuring Amy Acton's mom. pic.twitter.com/Vy7qKVvAOF
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 29, 2026
MARY BRUCE: With election day less than a week off tonight, President Trump heading to Ohio, his third campaign visit to this crucial red state battleground. But heading out, the President's attention focused on an explosive story rocking another key Senate contest: reports of underhanded tactics by Democrats up in Alaska.
DONALD TRUMP: It's a fraud. And they said they didn't do it. And they did do it, and they got caught.
BRUCE: The Alaska Senate race pits Republican Senator Dan Sullivan against former Congresswoman Mary Peltola, a Democrat. But there is another Dan Sullivan on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher. Tonight, The New York Times reports this second Dan Sullivan was recruited by Peltola’s campaign in an effort to confuse voters. The Democratic operatives scoured Alaska, searching for a candidate with the same name as the Republican senator, and they found one. Peltola has sidestepped questions about whether her campaign engaged in dirty tricks.
JONATHAN LEMIRE: What is your response to the GOP and those accusations?
MARY PELTOLA: You know, there's always political theater and shenanigans that are- seems like are going on every election cycle.
BRUCE: Her campaign now says it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Tonight, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski blunt, quote, “recruiting candidates to manipulate the field and influence voting outcomes is simply wrong”, adding, "Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign.” Legal experts tell us that recruiting spoiler candidates is not in itself illegal. But the Justice Department has already filed suit to block certification of Alaska's election results if Senator Sullivan loses.
Bruce’s mitigation was threefold: first, she repeated Peltola’s denial verbatim, despite the article saying that she was aware of the efforts to recruit another Dan Sullivan. Second, by helpfully offering that the “Two Dans” deception isn’t illegal, and third by bracketing the story with a rehash of the Vivek Ramaswamy ad featuring Dem opponent Amy Acton’s mother. Bruce made sure that her item didn’t get into any of the details mentioned in the NYT bombshell.
On the CBS Evening News, we got a slight variation on the theme from Ed O’Keefe:
WATCH: @CBSEveningNews is a bit more forthcoming with Peltola scandal report, reporting more details from NYT bombshell in a report that stood alone. Nonetheless, @edokeefe closes out by stressing legality of this particular dirty trick. pic.twitter.com/KOAbs3TywD
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 29, 2026
ED O’KEEFE: The New York Times reports aides to Peltola helped recruit the other Dan Sullivan in hopes of confusing voters on the state's ballot and helping her secure the win. President Trump called it “a fraud on the American public” and said Peltola shouldn't be allowed to run.
DONALD TRUMP: They should be taken off the ballot, and number two, they should be prosecuted.
O’KEEFE: The Peltola campaign repeatedly denies any involvement in either Sullivan candidacy. But the Times reports a staffer for Peltola was asked in the summer of 2025 to “find as many people named Dan Sullivan as you can.” They ended up settling on Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from a small fishing village with little political experience. He couldn't immediately be reached for comment, but previously told the Times he had no contact with Peltola's campaign.
TRUMP: All of a sudden he decides to run. For the Senate. And his name is Dan Sullivan.
O’KEEFE: Trump admitted last week he ordered the Justice Department to ask a federal court to block certification of the race in the event the sitting Senator Dan Sullivan loses.
PELTOLA: I feel like this is yet another diversion from the issue that Alaskans want to talk about, which is affordability.
O’KEEFE: The Peltola campaign doesn't deny the reports they helped recruit the other Dan Sullivan but says it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. We should point out, recruiting third party contenders to confuse voters is done by both parties and is not illegal. Tony.
DOKOUPIL: All right. Six days until Election Day. Ed, thank you very much.
On the plus side, CBS's report was a standalone. There was no bracketing with Ohio or anything else, which is what the rest of the Elitist Media would do if a Republican were engaging in similar campaign trickery. Unfortunately, O'Keefe closed out by also volunteering an opinion on the legality of the Democrat trickery.
NBC's report on Alaska was objectively the best, inasmuch as it provided the most detail into the scope and depth of the Alaska Democrat deception.
WATCH: @NBCNightlyNews delves the deepest into the NYT exposé of the Dem trickery in Alaska pic.twitter.com/vbmhiNLIv7
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 29, 2026
GARRETT HAAKE: And tonight, a new headline rocking the Senate race in deep red Alaska.
DONALD TRUMP: They’re two Dan Sullivans. The people aren't going to be able to tell. And it's a fraud.
HAAKE: The New York Times reporting on a secret Democratic plot to sabotage the campaign of Republican senator Dan Sullivan by placing another candidate with the same name on the ballot to confuse his supporters. The Times, citing “interviews and text messages along with documents”, reporting Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign worked with national Democrats to recruit would-be spoilers, eventually finding a man named Dan J. Sullivan to run. Peltola’s former campaign manager telling the times Peltola was, quote, “definitely aware of the plot.” But she then sought to retract her statements. The Peltola campaign and the Democrats’ Senate Campaign Committee denied the Times’ report. Last week, President Trump told the DoJ to file suit to block certification of Alaska's results if Dan J. Sullivan cost Senator Sullivan a win.
TRUMP: The fake Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola should be- number one, they should be taken off the ballot. And number two, they should be prosecuted.
Garrett Haake's item delved the deepest into the details of the NYT exposé, including the direct involvement of Mary Peltola's then-campaign manager. On the other hand the report was bracketed by, say it with me, a rehash of the aforementioned Vivek ad.
There is no doubt that this report would have stood alone had a Republican campaign been behind the "Two Dans" deceptions. To Garrett Haake's credit, he didn't tie his credibility to Peltola by affirming the legalities of the dirty trick. Our friend Vince Coglianese reminds us that this trick may not be so legal after all, pursuant to 18 USC §241:
Remember: Doug Mackey was prosecuted for a meme. The Democrats have just been exposed in a full-blown conspiracy to mislead Alaska voters.
— Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) October 28, 2026
Click "expand" to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective evening newscasts on Wednesday, October 28th, 2026:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
10/28/26
6:35 PM
DAVID MUIR: Back here in the U.S. tonight, the breaking news involving the midterm elections now less than a week away. President Trump tonight on his third trip to the normally red Ohio. And tonight the explosive headline here involving another close race, the Alaska Senate race. Allegations Democrats intentionally tried to confuse voters with two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. Here's Mary Bruce tonight.
MARY BRUCE: With election day less than a week off tonight, President Trump heading to Ohio, his third campaign visit to this crucial red state battleground. But heading out, the President's attention focused on an explosive story rocking another key Senate contest: reports of underhanded tactics by Democrats up in Alaska.
DONALD TRUMP: It's a fraud. And they said they didn't do it. And they did do it, and they got caught.
BRUCE: The Alaska Senate race pits Republican Senator Dan Sullivan against former Congresswoman Mary Peltola, a Democrat. But there is another Dan Sullivan on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher. Tonight, The New York Times reports this second Dan Sullivan was recruited by Peltola’s campaign in an effort to confuse voters. The Democratic operatives scoured Alaska, searching for a candidate with the same name as the Republican senator, and they found one. Peltola has sidestepped questions about whether her campaign engaged in dirty tricks.
JONATHAN LEMIRE: What is your response to the GOP and those accusations?
MARY PELTOLA: You know, there's always political theater and shenanigans that are- seems like are going on every election cycle.
BRUCE: Her campaign now says it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Tonight, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski blunt, quote, “recruiting candidates to manipulate the field and influence voting outcomes is simply wrong”, adding, "Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign.” Legal experts tell us that recruiting spoiler candidates is not in itself illegal. But the Justice Department has already filed suit to block certification of Alaska's election results if Senator Sullivan loses. Here in Ohio, Republicans are the ones facing blowback from a scathing campaign ad in the race for Governor. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy enlisting the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent Amy Acton, who hasn't seen her daughter in nearly 50 years.
DONNA ARTHUR: If you think she'll make your life better, you're fooling yourself.
BRUCE: Acton was removed from her mother's custody at 12 years old, after her stepfather was charged with raping her. Republicans now worry the ad could hurt other candidates, like Senator Jon Husted, who's fending off a challenge from former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown. Husted is a former college football player, and the president has drawn attention by praising his body over and over again at campaign rallies across the country.
TRUMP: But while he's speaking, you know, ladies and gentlemen, thank you, my name is John Husted- and I'm examining his body. And I said his ass was like a big piece of muscle. His feet were massive. His hands, his fingers look like sausages. My hands aren't bad, but his fingers look like sausages.
BRUCE: But Ohio voters may need more convincing, especially given the rising cost of living. Here in Chillicothe, I spoke with Paul Harris who lost his job when the local paper mill closed and is discouraged about where the country is heading.
PAUL HARRIS: It was like you said, the American dream. You can do whatever you want. You know, you just got to go work for it. Ain't nobody going to give it to you.
BRUCE: What do you think about that American dream now?
HARRIS: It's dying.
BRUCE: And David, this is a red state. President Trump won here in Ohio three times, but the races here are now tight. And 1.2 million Ohio voters have already cast their ballot. A big jump from the last midterm elections. David.
MUIR: Yeah. The extraordinary numbers in early voting across this country. Mary Bruce, live in Ohio tonight. Mary, thanks.
CBS EVENING NEWS
10/28/26
6:31 PM
TONY DOKOUPIL: Good evening. Great to have you with us. We begin with that bombshell new report alleging that Democrats launched a scheme to confuse voters in a race that could determine the balance of power in Washington. It's that Senate race in Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola is running against a Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan. But there's a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, and now The New York Times is reporting Peltola's campaign was behind an effort to recruit that other Dan Sullivan as a spoiler, and that the candidate herself was aware. Senior White House and Political Correspondent Ed O'Keefe is here with the latest. Ed, good evening. There's a lot here.
ED O’KEEFE: There is, Tony, and it's important because Alaska's Senate race is one of the ten competitive battleground races that will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Tonight's revelations have both parties pointing fingers at each other. Tonight, the Alaska Senate race between Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democratic candidate Mary Peltola is drawing fresh scrutiny because of a third candidate on the ballot, an independent, also named Dan Sullivan.
MARY PELTOLA: Election security really is the key to fighting D.C. corruption.
O’KEEFE: The New York Times reports aides to Peltola helped recruit the other Dan Sullivan in hopes of confusing voters on the state's ballot and helping her secure the win. President Trump called it “a fraud on the American public” and said Peltola shouldn't be allowed to run.
DONALD TRUMP: They should be taken off the ballot, and number two, they should be prosecuted.
O’KEEFE: The Peltola campaign repeatedly denies any involvement in either Sullivan candidacy. But the Times reports a staffer for Peltola was asked in the summer of 2025 to “find as many people named Dan Sullivan as you can.” They ended up settling on Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from a small fishing village with little political experience. He couldn't immediately be reached for comment, but previously told the Times he had no contact with Peltola's campaign.
TRUMP: All of a sudden he decides to run. For the Senate. And his name is Dan Sullivan.
O’KEEFE: Trump admitted last week he ordered the Justice Department to ask a federal court to block certification of the race in the event the sitting Senator Dan Sullivan loses.
PELTOLA: I feel like this is yet another diversion from the issue that Alaskans want to talk about, which is affordability.
O’KEEFE: The Peltola campaign doesn't deny the reports they helped recruit the other Dan Sullivan but says it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. We should point out, recruiting third party contenders to confuse voters is done by both parties and is not illegal. Tony.
DOKOUPIL: All right. Six days until Election Day. Ed, thank you very much.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS10/28/26
6:35 PM
TOM LLAMAS: Back here at home, we have major developments ahead of next week's midterms. President Trump making a last minute effort to boost the GOP in Ohio. Plus, a bombshell new report accusing Democrats of trying to confuse voters in the critical Alaska Senate race. Here’s Garrett Haake.
GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight, President Trump on a Republican rescue mission to Ohio, a state he won three times but where Republicans are locked in tight races. And in the governor's race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy still on defense over an attack ad his campaign ran using Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother, who stayed with a man charged with abusing Acton, to attack her credibility.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY: The irony is they're lying about an ad that was about her lying.
AMY ACTON: There is no low that my opponent won't go to.
HAAKE: More than 1.2 million votes have already been cast here. Barry Brown voted straight Democrat.
BARRY BROWN: People are in Central Ohio and are just tired. Tired of the corruption.
HAAKE: Mike Miller is supporting the GOP.
MIKE MILLER: I think their moral values are right in line with mine. I think they've got their head on straight.
HAAKE: And tonight, a new headline rocking the Senate race in deep red Alaska.
TRUMP: They’re two Dan Sullivans. The people aren't going to be able to tell. And it's a fraud.
HAAKE: The New York Times reporting on a secret Democratic plot to sabotage the campaign of Republican senator Dan Sullivan by placing another candidate with the same name on the ballot to confuse his supporters. The Times, citing “interviews and text messages along with documents”, reporting Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign worked with national Democrats to recruit would-be spoilers, eventually finding a man named Dan J. Sullivan to run. Peltola’s former campaign manager telling the times Peltola was, quote, “definitely aware of the plot.” But she then sought to retract her statements. The Peltola campaign and the Democrats’ Senate Campaign Committee denied the Times’ report. Last week, President Trump told the DoJ to file suit to block certification of Alaska's results if Dan J. Sullivan cost Senator Sullivan a win.
TRUMP: The fake Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola should be- number one, they should be taken off the ballot. And number two, they should be prosecuted.
LLAMAS: Garrett is in Ohio at the president's rally tonight. And Garrett, I know you have some new reporting on how that controversial ad may have backfired on the Ramaswamy campaign
HAAKE: Yeah. That's right. Tom. A Republican strategist working on races in this state tells me that in private, internal GOP polling, Ramaswamy slipped from down two points a week ago to Acton to eight points behind the Democrat. Now, all as that ad became the dominant story in this race. Tom.
LLAMAS: As we get closer and closer to Election Night. All right, we thank you for that.
