Alaska governor orders investigation into alleged namesake candidate scheme involving Peltola campaign
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, has directed the state's Department of Public Safety to investigate whether an alleged scheme involving Democrat Mary Peltola's U.S. Senate campaign broke Alaska law. He also asked whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted. Dunleavy gave the order on Wednesday evening, according to The Hill.
The order follows a report in The New York Times alleging that Peltola's campaign recruited people named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, with the aim of confusing voters. The paper's reporting relied on interviews with Peltola's former campaign manager and a longtime aide, as well as several other people who took part in the plan or were told about it. Text messages and documents the paper reviewed indicated that Peltola campaign staff and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party's arm for Senate races, hatched a plan to encourage other people with the same name to run. The Guardian reported the allegations and the governor's order.
One of the candidates at the center of the report is Dan J. Sullivan, who was described as a former educator with no political experience. Peltola's campaign has denied any involvement in encouraging or soliciting him to run. The campaign has not been accused in court of any wrongdoing in that matter, and the allegations remain allegations pending the state's review.
Dunleavy said the report reveals what he called "disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska's elections." In a post on X, he said the Times reporting substantially supports the findings of the Alaska Division of Elections. That division had looked into concerns in June about recruiting candidates who share an incumbent's name in order to confuse voters.
Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, called for Peltola to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted after the Times report, according to The Guardian. Earlier, Trump had condemned the presence of two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot and accused Democrats of putting an imposter on it.
Separately, Peltola's campaign has asked a judge to dismiss a U.S. lawsuit and to rule on the request that week, as Reuters reported. Election law experts have said the lawsuit has no merit and seeks relief that is not allowed.
The state investigation is at an early stage. It will examine whether the alleged plan violated Alaska law and whether charges or a civil case should follow.
