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

Governor orders investigation into alleged scheme

Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into claims that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's team worked with people to recruit spoiler candidates in Alaska's US Senate race.

New York Times reported the alleged plot

The New York Times reported that Peltola's team and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee tried to recruit spoiler candidates to confuse voters and dilute Republican support.

Two men named Dan Sullivan in the race

Dan S Sullivan is the incumbent Republican senator running for re-election. Dan J Sullivan is a retired teacher from a remote fishing village who also entered the race.

Democrats deny any wrongdoing

The Peltola campaign said it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Dan J Sullivan denied any links with the Peltola campaign.

“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”

Democratic committee also denies involvement

Monica Robinson, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the committee was not involved with Dan J Sullivan and denied involvement in any scheme.

Republicans accuse Democrats of voter confusion

Dan S Sullivan told Fox News that Peltola should come clean and described it as a scandal of the highest order. Senator Lisa Murkowski accused the Democratic campaign of engaging in a pattern of lies.

Trump administration filed federal lawsuit

The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit aimed at preventing certification of the election result if the Trump-backed Sullivan loses, arguing the ballot could confuse voters.

Election law experts doubt violations occurred

Justin Levitt at Loyola Law School said convincing someone to run for office is not a crime. Ruth Greenwood at Harvard Law School said the non-incumbent Sullivan has a constitutional right to run.

“It turns out that convincing somebody to run for office is not a crime, even if their name happens to be the same as an incumbent.”

Alaska Supreme Court already rejected removal bid

Previous Republican efforts to remove the non-incumbent Sullivan from the ballot were rejected by the Alaska Supreme Court, which found no state laws had been broken by him running.

Legal experts skeptical of federal lawsuit

Rick Pildes at New York University called the justice department's legal arguments a frivolous theory. Alaska election officials asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit because it has no legal basis.

Ranked-choice voting complicates the outcome

Alaska's ranked-choice voting system means voters could select both Sullivans if unsure at the ballot box. The battle threatens to delay the full picture of nationwide midterm results.