Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into allegations that Democratic operatives helped recruit a candidate sharing the name of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in an attempt to confuse voters ahead of next week’s US midterm elections.
The investigation follows a New York Times report alleging that individuals linked to Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign encouraged a retired schoolteacher, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., to enter the race against incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
Both men will appear on the November 3 ballot alongside Peltola and Republican candidate Gerald Heikes, raising concerns that voters could mistakenly support the wrong Sullivan in one of the country’s closely contested Senate races.
Dunleavy, a Republican, said the newspaper’s findings suggested a coordinated effort to influence the election by introducing candidates intended to divide support for the incumbent.
The governor said Alaska’s Division of Elections had examined similar allegations in June and that the latest reporting reinforced concerns raised during that investigation.
He directed the state’s Department of Public Safety to determine whether any laws had been violated and whether criminal charges or civil proceedings were justified.
“The evidence will determine what happens next,” Dunleavy said.
The governor argued that deliberately misleading voters about candidates’ identities could undermine public confidence in the electoral process and said anyone found to have broken the law should face accountability.
Democratic campaign denies involvement
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied involvement in recruiting the retired teacher.
The Democratic committee also argued that Republicans have previously supported additional candidates to improve their electoral prospects.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a former teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, has maintained that he entered the Senate contest independently and rejected allegations that his candidacy was intended to mislead voters.
Alaska election officials initially sought to exclude him from the ballot over concerns about voter confusion, but the state’s Supreme Court subsequently ruled that he was eligible to run.
The ballot identifies the incumbent as a Republican senator, while his namesake is listed without a party affiliation.
Dispute escalates ahead of election
The controversy has also drawn the attention of President Donald Trump, who called for Peltola to face prosecution following the New York Times investigation.
The Trump administration has separately pursued legal action seeking to prevent certification of the election under certain circumstances if votes cast for the second Sullivan affect the outcome.
Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
Although recruiting additional candidates to divide an opponent’s support is generally legal, the latest allegations have raised questions about whether the effort crossed the line into deliberate voter deception.
No criminal wrongdoing has been established.
With control of the US Senate potentially depending on a handful of closely fought races, the dispute has added a new controversy to Alaska’s election campaign just days before voters head to the polls.
