Claim Check · Elections
“Mary Peltola said she knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except herself and the incumbent, and is not interested in tricking voters”
Verdict: TruePublished automatically from the cited sources below; the editor, Cory Hepler, has not yet reviewed it. Something off? Request a correction →
At a speech in a downtown bar in Juneau, Alaska, on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Mary Peltola said, 'I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent... I am not interested in tricking voters,' addressing the controversy over a spoiler candidate sharing her opponent's name.
Both ABC News and CBS News directly quote Peltola making this exact statement at the start of her speech in a Juneau bar on October 29, 2026, amid the controversy over the second Dan Sullivan candidate. ABC News provides the fullest direct quote matching the claim nearly verbatim, including both the denial of knowledge about other candidates and the statement about not wanting to trick voters. CBS News corroborates the setting, timing, and partial quote. The claim accurately reflects what Peltola said, in the setting described, without alteration of meaning.
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