Peltola Denies Knowledge of Alaska Ballot Effort as Investigations Widen
Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Alaska, said on Thursday that she knew nothing about an effort to put another candidate with the same name as the Republican incumbent on the ballot. Speaking at the start of a speech in a downtown bar in Juneau, the state capital, she said, "I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent." She began by saying, "I just want to clear the air," and added that "I am not interested in tricking voters." (The Guardian)
The incumbent is Dan Sullivan, a Republican who is serving his second term in the Senate. The other candidate is Dan J Sullivan Jr, a retiree living in south-eastern Alaska with very little political experience. The New York Times reported that Peltola's campaign and national Democrats helped get him on the ballot, and that Peltola's campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting him. (ADN) He was allegedly recruited as part of an effort to confuse voters. The Alaska Supreme Court permitted him to appear on the ballot in June, and he will be listed without a party designation beside his name. (Reuters)
The U.S. Justice Department has escalated a criminal investigation this week. According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press, the department issued new grand jury subpoenas, which are legal orders requiring people to give testimony or hand over documents to a grand jury, a body that hears evidence in criminal cases. The subpoenas were also accompanied by demands that records be preserved. More subpoenas were expected, though the person did not say how many or who would receive them. (AP)
Alaska's Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, announced on Thursday plans to launch a criminal investigation into the alleged ballot effort at the state level.
President Donald Trump accused Peltola of voter fraud and said on Thursday that it was doubtful she would be seated in the Senate if she won. "It's hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run," he said. At a rally for Republican Senator Darline Graham, he said Peltola "actually should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted." Trump also would not commit to accepting the results of the Alaska Senate race. (AP)
The dispute has also moved into the courts. The Trump administration has sued to block certification of the Senate race in Alaska, which is the formal step of confirming the official result. On October 24, Peltola and Democrats filed a motion to stop the Trump administration from blocking election results. (ADN)
