In Alaska, there are two Dan Sullivans among the Senate candidates. Governor ordered an investigation into whether Democrats are involved
According to analysts, the fight for a Senate seat in Alaska will be one of the most intense in the upcoming US midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress. Americans across the country will head to the polls on Tuesday.
Alaska Governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy, has ordered an investigation into an alleged "scheme" in which two candidates named Dan Sullivan are running in the US Senate election from the state, writes the BBC.
The governor stated that he was responding to a publication in The New York Times, which suggested that the campaign team of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) coordinated their efforts to find spoiler candidates.
Specifically, it is alleged that Democrats purposefully sought out Alaska residents named Dan Sullivan to register a namesake of Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and confuse voters in the upcoming midterm elections.
As a result, a former teacher from a remote fishing village named Dan Sullivan appeared on the ballot. He himself denies any connection to Peltola's campaign.
In his post on social network X, Governor Dunleavy stated that he intends to find out "whether this scheme violated Alaska laws." He did not specify which laws he was referring to.
Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who is seeking re-election, and his allies have accused Democrats of manipulating voter trust.
Peltola's team denies any wrongdoing and insists that they never encouraged anyone to run.
What exactly did the NYT find out?
According to analysts, the fight for a Senate seat in Alaska will be one of the most intense in the upcoming US midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress. Americans across the country will head to the polls on Tuesday.
In his statement, Dunleavy, without mentioning Peltola's campaign headquarters, noted that the NYT publication confirmed the findings that the state election office had reached earlier this year.
"Therefore, I am directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska laws and whether there are grounds for criminal charges or civil lawsuits," he wrote. "Further action will depend on the evidence collected."
The NYT investigation alleges that individuals associated with Peltola's campaign headquarters, as well as high-ranking officials of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), attempted to persuade Sullivan, a former school teacher, to run for the Senate.
According to the newspaper, this was part of a broader campaign to attract other potential spoiler candidates who could draw away some of the votes from supporters of the incumbent Republican senator.
The publication reports that it reviewed text messages and spoke with 12 people who either participated in the implementation of this plan, were aware of it, or were among the potential candidates who were tried to be recruited to participate in the elections.
The BBC was unable to independently verify the information published by The New York Times.
"Scandal of the highest order"
On the ballot, the namesake candidates will be listed as Dan S. Sullivan, with a note indicating he is the incumbent Republican senator, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
On Wednesday evening on Fox News, Senator Dan Sullivan called on Peltola to "tell the whole truth" and called what was happening "a scandal of the highest order."
His colleague, Republican Senator from Alaska Lisa Murkowski, accused the Democratic campaign headquarters of "systematic lying." President Donald Trump demanded Peltola be removed from the election.
Previous attempts by Republicans to have teacher Sullivan excluded from the ballot were already rejected by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that his participation in the elections did not violate state laws.
Last week, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking a ban on the official certification of election results if Trump-backed Sullivan loses. The lawsuit alleges that the presence of two candidates with identical names on the ballot could mislead voters.
Some legal experts have expressed doubts about the merits of the lawsuit and its prospects of success, given that Alaska courts have already allowed the second Sullivan to remain on the ballot.
The legal arguments presented by the Department of Justice are based on "a notoriously unsubstantiated legal theory," New York University election law specialist Rick Pildes told the BBC.
He noted that the lawsuit does not specify a particular legal norm that the government is seeking to enforce. Instead, it only cites a general preamble from the broad American Voting Rights Act.
Alaska election officials have asked the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, "as the complaint lacks legal merit."
Following the publication of The New York Times investigation, the Department of Justice pledged to continue legal proceedings.
"They are cheating, let's call things by their names," Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Fox News on Wednesday.
Delaying election results
In a series of posts on his Truth Social website, Donald Trump also referenced the NYT investigation and made a number of accusations against Peltola, stating that she should be removed from the ballot. He reiterated his support for incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan, writing: "Dan is a GREAT man who ALWAYS delivered results for Alaska."
Alaska's existing ranked-choice voting system allows voters to choose both Sullivans if they are unsure for whom exactly they want to vote.
This confrontation threatens to delay the final results of the midterm elections nationwide. Which party ultimately gains control of Congress will largely determine how the remaining two years of Trump's presidency will unfold.
In a statement from the "Alaskans for Mary" campaign headquarters, prepared even before Dunleavy's call for an investigation, it was stated: "Mary entered this election race because Alaskans deserve an advocate who will fight to lower their costs and put Alaska's interests first. And no social media posts or threats from Washington politicians will make her give up this fight. The 'Alaskans for Mary' campaign headquarters has no connection to the campaigns of either of the two Sullivans."
In a statement provided to American media, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also rejected accusations regarding a similar scheme.
Earlier this week, Peltola temporarily suspended her campaign to recover from a car accident in which she and members of her family sustained "minor injuries."
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