Alaska Governor Orders Election Probe Into Peltola

Alaska's governor has directed an investigation into the Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate, following reporting that it moved to recruit a candidate sharing a name with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy posted the order overnight on social media, one day after President Donald Trump called for criminal charges against Mary Peltola and her campaign. Dunleavy wrote that reporting by The New York Times "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 such conduct "strikes at the integrity of our elections," and said the reporting "substantially supports" earlier findings by the state's elections board on the matter.

The race is among a handful of Senate contests this year expected to determine control of the chamber. Trump has previously directed the Department of Justice to sue to block certification of the contest, demanding that Alaska be prevented from certifying a Peltola win if Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. remains on the state's ballots. Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Thursday that he supported a probe into possible election fraud but stopped short of backing prosecution. "She is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska, and it's disgraceful," Vance said.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, addressed the reporting during a campaign stop in Soldotna. "This is just another distraction. It's another diversion," she said in a video posted online, calling the matter "stuff to sell newspapers" and "stuff to get subscriptions." Her campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Dunleavy's order.

Earlier this year, a top state elections official ruled Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg, ineligible for the primary ballot, concluding that 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. He has denied running at Democrats' behest, saying in June he had no contact with Peltola's campaign: "Zero, none, zilch."

Voters will see "Dan S. Sullivan" listed as a "registered Republican" and "incumbent" on their ballots, while "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." will appear without party affiliation. The New York Times reported that interviews, text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit showed Peltola's team aimed to coax candidates into the race to split support for the GOP senator. Asked about the reporting Wednesday, Trump told journalists, "I think they should be prosecuted."

Parties have backed other candidates before. In Ohio's Senate race, Republicans have been tied to an effort to boost a socialist on the ballot who would pull votes from the Democratic candidate challenging Sen. Jon Husted.