Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered the state to investigate whether aides to U.S. Senate hopeful Mary Peltola worked with national Democrats to recruit spoiler candidates onto the ballot.
In an announcement late on Oct. 28 local time, Dunleavy cited a recent report by The New York Times alleging a months-long scheme to peel votes from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who is seeking reelection in the upcoming midterms.
“Today’s New York Times reporting 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,” Dunleavy wrote in a post on X.
Peltola campaign aides, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) staff, and a Democratic operative spent months recruiting candidates to draw votes from Sullivan, The New York Times reported on Oct. 28.
The report claimed that the effort helped bring Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, into the race.
In June, the Alaska Division of Elections investigated these concerns, and a press release cited “credible allegations” that Dan J. Sullivan filed to run in coordination with another campaign “with the deliberate intent to confuse Alaska voters” because his name was similar to the Republican senator’s, which is Dan S. Sullivan.
Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher found that the challenger did not file his candidacy in good faith and was not eligible to appear on the ballot.
An Alaska judge later ordered that Dan J. Sullivan’s name would appear on the ballot, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
Peltola, a former Democratic congresswoman, faces Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Republican Gerald Heikes on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Dan J. Sullivan has denied any intent to confuse voters, describing himself as a “qualified candidate who followed the rules” and filed to run for office using his legal name. In a June 11 statement, he said the people of Alaska are fully capable of deciding who should represent them in Washington and that the incumbent should not resort to “legal maneuvers to limit who can challenge him.”
Dunleavy said in his Oct. 28 statement that the new reporting from The New York Times supports the division’s findings.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at the White House in Washington, on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The Republican governor said that Alaskan voters have the right to vote for the candidate they intend to support and that tricking voters into voting for a different candidate “strikes at the integrity” of the state’s elections.
“Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable,” he said.
Separately, the Justice Department has sued to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses, citing tainted results because Dan J. Sullivan was included on the ballot.
President Donald Trump said on Oct. 28 that Peltola should drop out of the race, and he said that he believes she should face criminal charges.
“To me, that’s voter fraud at the highest level,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Oct. 28, and he said that the “fake Dan Sullivan” should be taken off the ballot.
Peltola’s campaign denied involvement and vowed to fight for lower livings costs.
“Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any politician will keep her away from that fight,” she told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” the spokesperson added.
The Epoch Times reached out to DSCC for comment, with no response by publication.
In a statement to The New York Times, the DSCC denied involvement.
Chase Smith contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the date Gov. Mike Dunleavy made his announcement of an investigation into alleged spoiler candidate recruitment. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
