The hosts of ABC’s The View sharply criticized Alaska Democrats over an alleged ballot maneuver involving a second Senate candidate named Dan Sullivan. The panel portrayed the move as a dirty trick that could confuse voters and damage Democrat nominee Mary Peltola.

Incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan is seeking reelection in Alaska. Certain actors within the Alaska Democrat Party recruited another man named Dan Sullivan to enter the Senate race and place the same name on the ballot.

The alleged objective was to confuse voters and weaken the incumbent senator’s chances. Peltola appeared to have known about the plan beforehand, although her campaign denied participating in the effort.

During Thursday’s broadcast, Whoopi Goldberg called the ballot move “a shady tactic.” Joy Behar agreed with the criticism, describing the situation as “a mistake on the part of the Democrats” in Alaska.

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Behar argued that both major political sides have engaged in questionable conduct, but she still condemned the Alaska maneuver as foolish. She also invoked Donald Trump while making her broader point about political tactics.

“I mean, it’s done on both sides. It was done back in the day by the Republicans. They did it. And, also, I don’t know, it just seems like a lousy, low-level trick. Let’s remember that Trump was the one who asked to find 11,780 votes. Remember that? So, he’s up to dirty tricks all the time. This is politics. And it was dumb of the Democrats,” Behar continued.

Alyssa Farah Griffin delivered another blunt assessment of the situation, saying that “it stinks to high heaven.” She maintained that political candidates should succeed because of their qualifications rather than tactics designed to manipulate an election.

“I just believe candidates should win on their merits, not through shady tactics. Think of this, like, Vivek Ramaswamy did that disgusting ad in Ohio. It backfired against him. The gerrymandering that we saw that Republicans did in Texas, it backfired against them,” Griffin said.

Griffin said she did not believe the second Dan Sullivan would meaningfully affect the election’s outcome. Even so, she emphasized that she does “not like the tactic at all.”

Her larger concern was that the controversy could provide Trump with material for a legal challenge following the election. Griffin said the alleged scheme plays directly into his hands because he has already indicated that he wants to challenge the results.

“What it does, too, we know that Donald Trump has already telegraphed he wants to challenge the election results. This is absolutely going to show up in one of these lawsuits afterwards if Peltola wins,” she exclaimed.

Hostin focused on the legal framework surrounding the unusual ballot situation. She said there is a flaw in election law because placing someone with the same name as another candidate on the ballot is not illegal.

That distinction did not soften the panel’s criticism. The hosts repeatedly treated the maneuver as an unacceptable attempt to exploit voter confusion, even if the act of running another candidate named Dan Sullivan did not violate election law.

Goldberg ultimately described the entire affair as “sloppy and dumb.” She also expressed concern that the controversy could hurt Peltola’s chances of winning rather than weakening Senator Sullivan.

‘NYT’ REPORTS PELTOLA CAMPAIGN RECRUITED SAME-NAME CANDIDATE: ‘The View’ co-hosts react to a report claiming Alaska Democrats tried to confuse Republican voters by putting a duplicate Dan Sullivan on the ballot as the Democratic candidate denies the claim. https://t.co/gAruHoC3fU

— The View (@TheView) October 29, 2026

The discussion produced an unusual moment of agreement from the program’s left-wing hosts, who placed the blame squarely on Alaska Democrats. Their criticism centered on the view that candidates should compete on their merits instead of relying on a confusing ballot tactic.

Although Griffin doubted the move would have a real electoral effect, she warned that the controversy could continue after votes are cast. If Peltola wins, Griffin said, the second Dan Sullivan issue would likely appear in one of the lawsuits challenging the result.

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