Alaska Governor Launches Probe Into Peltola Campaign Over Spoiler Candidate

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola on Wednesday. The probe was triggered by new reporting suggesting her team helped recruit a rival candidate who shares the name of incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

Dunleavy announced the order overnight via social media. This action followed President Donald Trump's call for the criminal prosecution of Peltola and her campaign staff the previous day. The governor stated that reporting from The New York Times revealed an organized effort to manipulate the state's elections by recruiting candidates intended to confuse voters.

In the investigation order, Dunleavy described the recruitment of a candidate with the same name as the incumbent as evidence of a deliberate attempt to misdirect votes. He noted that these new findings substantially support earlier determinations made by the state elections board regarding the matter.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, dismissed the controversy during a campaign stop in Soldotna on Thursday. She characterized the media coverage as a distraction from other issues, including Senator Sullivan's stance on the war in Iran. In a video posted online, Peltola said, "This is just another distraction. It's another diversion. This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions."

Vice President JD Vance expressed support for the state probe on Thursday, though he did not call for criminal prosecution as the president had. Vance told reporters that Peltola had pretended for months that she had no involvement in placing a fraudulent candidate on the ballot. He described the effort as an attempt to steal a Senate seat from Alaskan voters and called the situation disgraceful.

The dispute centers on Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from the fishing community of Petersburg. Earlier this year, a state elections official ruled him ineligible for the primary ballot, citing a purpose to confuse or mislead voters. The Alaska Supreme Court reversed that decision, ruling that Sullivan Jr. was qualified to run.

Sullivan Jr. has maintained that he did not run at the behest of Democrats and had no contact with Peltola's campaign. He described his connection to the campaign in June as zero, none, and zilch. On the ballot, voters will see Dan S. Sullivan identified as a registered Republican and incumbent. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. will appear without a party affiliation.

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. Trump told journalists on Wednesday that he believed they should be prosecuted. He previously posted on social media that Peltola should suffer legal and political consequences for her actions.

Political parties have a history of supporting extra candidates to pull votes from rivals. Legal experts note that if state courts allow these candidates on the ballot, the federal government has no role in challenging the results. A similar dynamic exists in Ohio, where Republicans have been tied to an effort to boost a socialist candidate in the Senate race.