Top election schemes roiling key midterm races as both parties accuse rivals of trickery Republicans and Democrats accuse each other of cynical ploys while often using the same tactics they denounce

 

Top election schemes roiling key midterm races as both parties accuse rivals of trickery

Republicans and Democrats accuse each other of cynical ploys while often using the same tactics they denounce

Republicans and Democrats are deploying increasingly aggressive tactics to shape the 2026 midterms — including efforts to influence rival primaries, obscure political spending and exploit election deadlines.

Both parties are accusing one another of using cynical tactics to influence voters and shape the field ahead of Election Day, even as operatives aligned with each of them employ similar strategies. Those maneuvers have included routing millions of dollars through deceptively named political committees to influence rival primaries and using filing deadlines in ways that gave favored successors a clearer path to the ballot.

Many of these schemes are being carried out in key races, meaning that control of Congress may come down to what many view as cheap tricks — a prospect that could serve to further erode public trust in government.

The tale of three Dans

Two separate individuals named Dan Sullivan are running for Senate in Alaska, and a third just endorsed one over the other.

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Former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, teacher Dan Sullivan and Sen. Dan Sullivan. (REUTERS/Mark Meyer | AP Photo/Becky Bohrer | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Republicans have argued that the confusing state of affairs in Alaska is the product of a Democratic ploy to disorient voters.

Incumbent GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is facing a challenge from teacher Dan J. Sullivan, whom Republicans have accused of running as a Republican solely to confuse voters to the benefit of Democrats. Alaska’s electoral system allows the top-four vote-getters in the state’s nonpartisan primary to advance to the ranked-choice general election.

Fox News Power Rankings rates the Alaska Senate race as a toss-up, meaning neither party currently has a clear advantage. If enough voters confuse Dan S. Sullivan with Dan J. Sullivan, it could be enough to give Democratic nominee Mary Peltola an edge.

Republicans point to the fact that Dan J. Sullivan worked with a Democratic-aligned consultant as evidence that he is part of a plot to siphon voters off of Dan S. Sullivan. Dan J. Sullivan, meanwhile, maintains that he is an actual Republican with legitimate grievances as to the incumbent senator’s representation of his state.

A third Dan Sullivan, the former mayor of Anchorage, recently waded into the Senate race to endorse Dan S. Sullivan.

Dan J. Sullivan is reportedly being investigated by the Justice Department and Alaska election officials in separate probes examining whether he sought to deliberately mislead voters. The investigation follows a failed Republican legal effort to remove him from the ballot.

Texas primary games 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee reportedly worked behind the scenes to encourage Rep. Jasmine Crockett to enter Texas’ Democratic Senate primary. Once she entered, other Republican actors also ran messaging that Democrats argued could help her with primary voters.

One source familiar with the process dubbed it an "AstroTurf recruitment process" when speaking with NOTUS in 2025.

The NRSC began its alleged campaign by releasing a poll showing Crockett, who was believed by some to be a weaker candidate in the general election than Texas state Rep. James Talarico, leading the field in a hypothetical Democratic primary. Prior to the NRSC's poll, Crockett had not been included in most primary surveys.

That quickly changed and subsequent polls showed Crockett pulling in considerable support. The congresswoman ultimately cited the strong polling as part of her motivation in entering the race.

Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico listens to a question during the conclusion of a "Talarico for Texas: Frontera Tour" campaign rally at the International Center for Trade convention center in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 13, 2026.(Getty Images)

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The source who spoke to NOTUS claimed that the NRSC worked diligently to spread those polls in progressive digital spaces and drum up support for Crockett. Once she entered the race, conservative political committees ran ads ostensibly criticizing her liberal record, though critics argued this was merely an underhanded tactic to get more Democrats to support her by publicizing positions that are generally popular with the Democratic base.

Multiple Republicans also said publicly that they were concerned about her candidacy, statements that could entice liberal voters to throw their support behind her.

Even with Crockett defeated, tensions from the bruising primary have lingered, with some Black elected officials and activists pressing Talarico to do more to address concerns among voters who overwhelmingly backed Crockett.

In(D)ependents and money movers

A network of Democratic donors, dark-money groups and left-leaning super PACs has spent well over $10 million backing five independents in Republican-leaning areas.

Critics of the strategy see it as a way for liberals to sneak left-leaning lawmakers into Congress by eschewing the branding of the Democratic Party. Though the candidates identify themselves as independents, skeptics hold that they’ll vote like Democrats if elected, a charge many of them deny, stressing their independence.

In the Nebraska, Idaho and South Dakota Senate races, for instance, the Democratic nominees withdrew from their races, which Republicans have pointed to as evidence that the party is using independent candidates as a backdoor to get liberals into Congress.