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Even though this question—the relative standing of ʿUthmān and ʿAlī—is not, according to the majority of Sunnis, one of the foundational doctrines whose denial renders a person deviant,
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the matter over which they do censure the dissenter is the succession to the Prophet.
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They hold as a point of faith that the caliph after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was Abū Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿUthmān, and finally ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with them all.
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Whoever casts aspersions on the caliphate of any one of these leaders is more misguided than the donkey of his own household.
[The Sunnis’ regard for the Prophet’s family]
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They love the household of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and ally themselves with them.
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They safeguard the Prophet’s bequest concerning them, for he said on the day of Ghadīr Khumm: “I remind you by Allah concerning my household; I remind you by Allah concerning my household.”
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He also said to his uncle al-ʿAbbās—who had complained that some among Quraysh were treating the Banū Hāshim coldly—“By Him in whose hand is my soul, they will never truly believe until they love you for Allah’s sake and because of my kinship.”