Alaska Governor Orders Investigation Into Peltola Campaign

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola.

The directive was posted on social media early Wednesday. It comes one day after President Donald Trump called for the criminal prosecution of Peltola and her team.

The dispute centers on the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. Sullivan Jr. shares his first and last name with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. The New York Times reported that interviews, text messages, and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit indicate Peltola’s team sought to recruit candidates with the goal of splitting the Republican vote.

Dunleavy stated that the reporting reveals an organized effort to manipulate the election. He described the recruitment of a candidate with the incumbent’s name as a deliberate move to confuse voters. The governor noted that the findings substantially support earlier conclusions by the state elections board.

"Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections," Dunleavy wrote in his order.

President Trump has intensified his criticism of the race. On Wednesday, he told reporters that he believed Peltola should be prosecuted. Earlier in the week, he directed the Department of Justice to sue to block the certification of the election results if Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. remained on the ballot.

The president also cast doubt on whether Peltola would take her seat in the Senate if she won. "It’s hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run," Trump told reporters while traveling to a rally in South Carolina.

State legal proceedings regarding Sullivan Jr. began earlier in the year. A top state elections official initially ruled him ineligible for the primary ballot. The official concluded that his declaration of candidacy was filed with the purpose of confusing or misleading voters. The Alaska Supreme Court later overturned that decision, ruling that Sullivan Jr. was qualified to run.

Sullivan Jr. has denied coordinating with the Democratic side. In June, he told reporters that he had no contact with Peltola’s campaign. "Zero, none, zilch," he said regarding their interactions.

Alaskan voters will see distinct labels on their ballots to differentiate the two men. "Dan S. Sullivan" will appear as a registered Republican and incumbent. "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." will appear without a party affiliation. Legal experts note that parties have historically backed additional candidates to pull votes from rivals. If state courts permit the candidates to run, the federal government generally has no role in challenging the results.