Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy directed the state Department of Public Safety to investigate whether a Democratic campaign’s alleged recruitment of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan violated state laws. The investigation was prompted by a New York Times report detailing claims that operatives connected to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked to encourage the alternate Sullivan, a retired teacher, to enter the Senate race as a spoiler candidate.
Incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and his allies contend the effort was designed to confuse voters. The Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied involvement, stating they did not encourage the second Sullivan to run. The non-incumbent Sullivan has also rejected any connection to the Peltola campaign. The Republican senator told Fox News that Peltola should publicly address the allegations, while President Trump called for her removal from the ballot.
Election law experts expressed skepticism about whether any state laws were actually violated. Legal scholars noted that convincing someone to run for office is not inherently illegal, and that candidates have a constitutional right to appear on ballots. Alaska’s Supreme Court previously rejected Republican attempts to remove the second Sullivan from the ballot, finding no state law violations. The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent certification of results if the incumbent Sullivan loses, though legal experts questioned the viability of that legal challenge.
The Senate race is widely viewed as one of the most competitive contests in the midterm elections, which determine control of Congress. The state’s ranked-choice voting system allows voters to select multiple candidates, potentially complicating final results. The Peltola campaign stated it remained focused on representing Alaskan interests, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee separately denied involvement in any scheme to recruit spoiler candidates.
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