Governor orders investigation

Alaska Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into Democrat Mary Peltola's Senate campaign after reports her team recruited candidates to draw votes from her Republican opponent.

Trump calls for prosecution

President Donald Trump called for Peltola's prosecution and questioned whether she should be allowed to run, escalating Republican efforts to challenge her candidacy days before the election.

“It's hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run.”

The candidate with the same name

Peltola is challenging Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan in the November three election. Another candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Junior, a retired teacher from Petersburg, has denied running at Democrats' behest.

Times reports ballot scheme

The New York Times found that Peltola's team worked with people to recruit men named Dan Sullivan to run for Senate, as well as other candidates to draw votes from the incumbent.

Governor cites election integrity

Dunleavy said the reporting provided new evidence of an effort to mislead voters. He wrote that deliberately tricking voters into casting ballots for someone else strikes at election integrity.

“Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”

Peltola dismisses the report

Peltola, a former congresswoman, dismissed the report as a distraction from issues including incumbent Sullivan's support for the war in Iran, calling it stuff to sell newspapers.

“This is just another distraction. It's another diversion.”

Campaign denies involvement

Peltola's campaign said it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also told TIME it was not involved with Dan J. Sullivan.

Vance backs investigation

Vice President JD Vance backed an investigation Thursday, accusing Peltola of trying to mislead voters. He told reporters she is trying to steal a Senate seat from Alaska voters.

“She is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska, and it's disgraceful.”

How the scheme reportedly worked

According to the Times, Peltola's campaign pursued a project called ballot composition involving campaign lawyers and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit spoiler candidates.

Both parties have used tactics

The Times noted that ballot-stacking tactics are generally considered legal and have been used by both parties. Republicans used similar tactics in Alaska's primary and other recent elections.

Justice Department seeks intervention

At Trump's direction, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of election results if Senator Sullivan loses, citing potential voter confusion from the name similarity.