Governor orders audit after $100 billion race faces spoiler challenge

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into the Democratic U.S. Senate campaign of Mary Peltola. The directive follows new reporting suggesting her team recruited a candidate with the same name as the Republican incumbent to influence the election outcome.

The probe focuses on the recruitment of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. The New York Times reported that interviews, text messages, and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit indicated Peltola's team aimed to split support for the GOP senator. Sullivan Jr. was not listed with a party affiliation on the ballot, while the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, appeared as a registered Republican.

Dunleavy stated that the reporting reveals an organized effort to manipulate elections by confusing voters. He noted that the evidence substantially supports earlier findings by the state elections board. The board had previously ruled Sullivan Jr. ineligible for the primary ballot because his candidacy was filed to compromise the ballot's fairness. The Alaska Supreme Court later reversed that decision and ruled him qualified to run.

The controversy has drawn national attention from President Donald Trump. The president called for the criminal prosecution of Peltola and her campaign. He directed the Department of Justice to sue to block the certification of the election if Sullivan Jr. remained on the ballots. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he believes the candidates should be prosecuted.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, dismissed the reporting as a distraction during a campaign stop in Soldotna. She argued that the issue serves to sell newspapers and get subscriptions rather than address policy concerns like Senator Sullivan's support for the war in Iran. Sullivan Jr. has denied running at the Democrats' behest and stated he had no contact with Peltola's campaign.

This Senate race is expected to determine control of the chamber. The presence of two candidates with similar names creates a specific financial and logistical risk for the state's election administration. Dunleavy's order marks the latest executive action in a dispute that began when Sullivan Jr. announced his run in June.

The state elections board will now review the matter under the new directive. Peltola's campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the governor's order. The investigation will examine whether the recruitment of the spoiler candidate violated state election integrity standards.