Alaska governor orders probe into Democratic campaign’s alleged links to same-name candidate

The Republican governor of Alaska has ordered an investigation into an alleged “scheme” which led to two Dan Sullivans standing in the state’s US Senate race.

Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was responding to a New York Times (NYT) story, external which said the team of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola worked with people who tried to recruit spoiler candidates in the Senate race.

The governor’s post on X said he would investigate “whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws”. He did not say which laws he had in mind.

Dan Sullivan, the incumbent Republican senator running for re-election, and allies have accused the Democrats of trying to confuse voters. Peltola’s team deny any wrongdoing.

They say they did not encourage the second Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher who lives in a remote fishing village, to stand. He has denied any links with the Peltola campaign.

The Alaska race is considered by analysts to be one of the tightest of the upcoming US midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress. Americans head to the polls across the country on Tuesday.

Dunleavy’s statement, which did not name the Peltola campaign, said the NYT reporting had supported findings by the state Division of Elections earlier this year.

“I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted,” he wrote. “The evidence will determine what happens next.”

The NYT report alleged that people connected to Peltola’s campaign, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), worked to try to recruit Sullivan the schoolteacher to stand in the Senate race.

This was part of a broader effort to encourage other would-be “spoiler” candidates to enter the race and dilute the support of the sitting Republican senator, the newspaper reported.

The paper said it had seen text messages and interviewed 12 people who participated in or were told of the plan, or were would-be candidates who the team tried to recruit. The BBC has not independently verified the NYT’s reporting.