Alaska Governor Orders Probe Into Peltola Senate Race

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has opened an investigation into the U.S. Senate race after reports that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign worked to recruit a candidate with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The order, which Dunleavy posted on social media overnight, came one day after President Donald Trump called for criminal prosecution of Peltola and her campaign.

In his statement, Dunleavy cited New York Times reporting that he said "reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska's elections by recruiting candidates, including one with the same name as an incumbent U.S. Senator, to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes." He added that the reporting "substantially supports" earlier findings by the state's elections board. Dunleavy also wrote: "Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections."

The Senate contest in Alaska is one of a handful of races this year that will determine control of the chamber. Trump had previously directed his Department of Justice to sue to block certification of the race, asking that Alaska be prevented from certifying a Peltola victory if Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. remains on the state's ballots. Trump told reporters Thursday that "It's hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run." Vice President JD Vance said he supported a probe into possible election fraud, saying Peltola "is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska."

Peltola's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dunleavy's order. At a campaign stop in Soldotna, Peltola, a former congresswoman, called the Times reporting a "distraction" from matters such as Sen. Sullivan's support of the war in Iran. "This is just another distraction. It's another diversion," she said in a video posted online. "This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions."

Earlier this year, a top state elections official ruled Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. ineligible for the primary ballot, concluding his declaration of candidacy was filed "with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot's fairness or neutrality." The Alaska Supreme Court later ruled he was qualified to run. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher in Petersburg, has denied any contact with Peltola's campaign, saying in June: "Zero, none, zilch."

Alaska ballots will list "Dan S. Sullivan" as a registered Republican and incumbent, while "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." will appear without a party affiliation. The Times reported that interviews, text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit showed Peltola's team worked to bring candidates into the race to split support for the GOP senator. Ohio's Senate race has seen a similar effort, with Republicans tied to boosting a socialist on the ballot to pull votes from the Democratic candidate challenging Sen. Jon Husted.

Legal experts say parties often back additional candidates to draw votes from rivals, and if state courts permit it, the federal government has no role in challenging the results. Asked about the reporting Wednesday, Trump told journalists, "I think they should be prosecuted." He posted earlier on social media that "Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done."