Palin Warned Ranked-Choice Was Built for 'Shenanigans.' Now State Troopers Are Probing the Second Dan Sullivan
Sarah Palin says she ran for Congress in 2022 knowing she couldn't win under Alaska's ranked-choice system. Days after a New York Times report that Peltola-aligned operatives recruited a namesake to run against Sen. Dan Sullivan, she called it "another 'I told you so,'" and Alaskans vote Tuesday on repealing the system.
Sarah Palin says she saw this coming four years ago. In a 16-point statement on X Oct. 31, the former Alaska governor said she ran for Congress in 2022 "knowing I couldn't win under these shenanigans" and called the new uproar over Alaska's Senate race "another 'I told you so.'"
The uproar started Oct. 28, when The New York Times reported that operatives aligned with Democrat Mary Peltola spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, including a retiree also named Dan Sullivan. Both names are on Tuesday's ballot.
"I took one for the team to PROVE it," Palin wrote. "With media's sudden feigned outrage over unethical politicking, it's our time to prove it."
Sarah Palin on X, Oct. 31, 2026: "Palin vs Peltola vs Murkowski vs Begich vs NYT vs The Corrupt Political Establishment"
— @SarahPalinUSA View on ๐
What Palin says happened in 2022
Palin lost the 2022 House race to Peltola under the ranked-choice system Alaska voters adopted in 2020. She blamed Republican vote-splitting, saying Nick Begich stayed in the race "despite me beating him in every round of voting," while a Democrat dropped out and Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Peltola.
She said the same playbook is back. "Politicos again support a recognizable, albeit confusing, name on the ballot," she wrote, adding that the Times coverage is "a day late and a dollar short" because Alaskans have been voting absentee for weeks.
Palin also wrote that she voted absentee to be at her partner's bedside at a cancer hospital and lost him last week. Palin announced Oct. 22 that former NHL star Ron Duguay had died.
The investigation
At Gov. Mike Dunleavy's request, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into "the alleged conduct outlined in a recent New York Times article," the Alaska Department of Public Safety said Oct. 29. The department said it will work with the Department of Law and hold accountable "anyone found to have violated state law."
Repeal is on Tuesday's ballot
Ballot Measure 2 would end ranked-choice general elections and Alaska's top-four primary and restore party primaries. Petitioners turned in 42,837 qualified signatures, well over the 34,098 required, according to the Alaska Division of Elections. Palin urged voters to back it: a "yes" vote, she wrote, "will repeal RCV."
Sources
- Sarah Palin on X โ "Palin vs Peltola vs Murkowski vs Begich vs NYT vs The Corrupt Political Establishment" statement (Oct. 31, 2026)
- Alaska Department of Public Safety โ Alaska DPS Statement on the Alaska Bureau of Investigation probe (Oct. 29, 2026)
- Alaska Division of Elections โ Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom Certifies Proper Filing of Ballot Initiative Petition 24ESEG (2026)
- Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska โ Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom to Host Ballot Measure Public Hearings, Ballot Measure 2 (24ESEG) (July 2026)
- The New York Times โ Inside Democrats' Secret Effort to Stack Alaska's Midterm Ballot With Another Dan Sullivan (Oct. 28, 2026)