Alaska Governor Orders Senate Probe

Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into the campaign of U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola.

The order follows reports that Peltola’s team helped recruit a challenger with the same name as incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

The move comes one day after President Donald Trump called for the criminal prosecution of Peltola.

Dunleavy posted the order on social media early on October 29. He cited a New York Times report as evidence of an organized effort to manipulate the state’s elections.

“Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections,” Dunleavy wrote. He said the reporting substantially supports earlier findings by the state elections board.

The dispute centers on a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. He is a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. The New York Times reported that Peltola’s campaign aimed to split support for the GOP senator by getting him on the ballot.

Sullivan Jr. has denied running at the behest of Democrats. In June, he said he had “zero, none, zilch” contact with Peltola’s campaign.

A top state elections official previously ruled Sullivan Jr. ineligible for the primary ballot. The official concluded his candidacy was filed to confuse voters. The Alaska Supreme Court later overturned that ruling and allowed him to run.

On October 22, Trump told reporters he believed Peltola should be prosecuted. He directed the Department of Justice to sue to block the certification of the election result if Sullivan Jr. remains on the ballot.

Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on October 22. He supported a probe into possible election fraud. Vance called the situation disgraceful and said Peltola was trying to steal a Senate seat from Alaskan voters.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, dismissed the controversy during a campaign stop in Soldotna. She called the reporting a distraction from issues like the war in Iran.

“This is just another distraction. It’s another diversion,” Peltola said in a video posted online. “This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions.” Her campaign did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the governor’s order on October 29. Alaskan voters will see “Dan S. Sullivan” identified as a registered Republican and incumbent on their ballots. “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” will appear on the ballot without a party affiliation.