Dunleavy Orders Audit of Peltola Campaign After Name Clash

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has directed a formal investigation into the office of U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan's Democratic challenger, Mary Peltola. The order targets the Peltola campaign's alleged role in recruiting a third-party candidate who shares a confusingly similar name with the Republican incumbent. This move follows a New York Times report detailing internal communications and documents that suggest the campaign sought to split the GOP vote by adding a spoiler candidate.

The controversy began earlier this year when Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg, entered the primary race. A top state elections official initially ruled him ineligible, citing a declaration of candidacy filed to mislead voters. The Alaska Supreme Court later overturned that ruling, allowing Sullivan Jr. to remain on the ballot. He has consistently stated he had no contact with Peltola's team, describing their connection as zero.

The New York Times reviewed interviews, text messages, and lawsuit preparation materials. Those records indicated Peltola's staff aimed to coax candidates into the race to disrupt support for the sitting senator. The report stated that the campaign organized an effort to confuse voters by recruiting someone with the same name as the incumbent.

President Donald Trump reacted to the reporting on Wednesday. He told reporters he believed the Peltola campaign should face criminal prosecution. The president previously instructed the Department of Justice to sue to block the certification of the race if Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. remained on the ballot. On social media, Trump wrote that Peltola should suffer legal and political consequences for her actions.

Dunleavy posted his order on social media overnight, citing the New York Times findings as disturbing new evidence. He described the recruiting effort as an organized attempt to manipulate the election. The governor noted that the reporting substantially supported earlier findings by the state elections board. He stated that deliberately tricking voters into casting ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of the process.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, addressed the news during a campaign stop in Soldotna on Thursday. She called the media coverage a distraction from other issues, specifically mentioning Senator Sullivan's support for the war in Iran. In a video posted online, she said the reporting was a diversion designed to sell newspapers and get subscriptions. Her campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the governor's specific order.

The race is expected to determine control of the Senate. Alaskan voters will see Dan S. Sullivan listed as a registered Republican and incumbent. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. will appear on the ballot without a party affiliation. The state's elections board previously found the junior candidate's filing compromised the ballot's fairness.