Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign allegedly recruited a second candidate named "Dan Sullivan" to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, according to the New York Times.

The reported strategy: split the Republican vote by fielding another person with the same name. Top aides allegedly tasked staffers with finding and recruiting the decoy candidate.

Peltola's former campaign manager told the Times that Peltola was "definitely aware" of the operation. The campaign initially denied involvement.

The tactic exploits Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, where name confusion could siphon votes from the incumbent.