Alaska Governor Orders Criminal Probe of Senate Race After Spoiler Candidate Report

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy directed the state Department of Public Safety to investigate the U.S. Senate race on Wednesday night. He asked officials to determine if a scheme to recruit a spoiler candidate violated Alaska laws and if criminal charges or civil action are warranted.

The order followed a report by The New York Times alleging that Democratic campaign operatives tried to recruit a non-incumbent candidate named Dan Sullivan. The incumbent Republican senator also shares that name. The two candidates will both appear on the general election ballot next week.

Mary Peltola, the Democratic challenger and former congresswoman, has sought to flip the seat for her party. Her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denied involvement in the non-incumbent Sullivan’s candidacy. Peltola called the media coverage a distraction while campaigning on Wednesday.

Republican officials reacted strongly to the report. Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan, stated that Peltola and her team had spent months denying a scheme they were running. President Trump posted online that the situation constitutes voter fraud at the highest level.

The Justice Department had already sought court intervention in the race last week. It asked a judge to delay certification if the incumbent loses by a small margin, citing potential voter confusion from the duplicate name. Officials said the new reporting expands their options and filed an amended complaint on Thursday.

Election law experts criticized the department's initial case as weak. They noted that the Constitution grants states control over their elections. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that the non-incumbent Sullivan could appear on the general election ballot after the nonpartisan primary.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told NPR that such tactics are standard fare for campaigns. She noted that the internet makes it easy to spread both tricks and corrections. Some residents told Alaska Public Media they were skeptical voters would be confused, noting that the ballot identifies which Sullivan is the incumbent.

Voters in Alaska use a ranked-choice voting system for the general election. If confused, they can rank both Sullivans and leave Peltola unranked. The ballot also includes a question asking voters if they want to keep this unique election system.