Alaska Governor Orders Probe Into Peltola Senate Campaign

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into the U.S. Senate campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola on Wednesday. The order comes after media reports suggested her campaign recruited a challenger with the same name as the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan.

Dunleavy posted the directive on social media the morning after President Donald Trump called for criminal prosecution of Peltola and her team. The governor stated that reporting from The New York Times revealed an organized effort to manipulate the election. He described the strategy as recruiting candidates to confuse voters and misdirect their votes.

"Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections," Dunleavy wrote. He added that the new reporting substantially supports earlier findings by the state elections board regarding the matter.

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. The goal was to split support for the GOP senator. The race is expected to determine control of the U.S. Senate this year.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday. However, during a campaign stop in Soldotna, she suggested the report was a distraction from key issues, including 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. She called the coverage "stuff to sell newspapers" and "stuff to get subscriptions."

The controversy centers on Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. Earlier this year, a top state elections official ruled him ineligible for the primary ballot because his candidacy appeared designed to compromise the ballot's fairness. The Alaska Supreme Court later reversed that ruling, allowing him to run. Sullivan has denied running at the Democrats' behest, stating in June that he had no contact with Peltola's campaign. He described their connection as "zero, none, zilch."

On ballots, voters will see "Dan S. Sullivan" identified as a registered Republican and incumbent. "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." will appear without a party affiliation. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he believes Peltola should be prosecuted. He previously posted that she should suffer legal and political consequences for her actions.