Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign following a bombshell report that her team appeared to be involved in recruiting a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Dunleavy, a Republican, posted the order on social media overnight, writing that reporting by The New York Times “reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections by recruiting candidates — including one with the same name as an incumbent U.S. Senator — to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes.”
“Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections,” Dunleavy added.
The Times reported that interviews, text messages and documents showed Peltola’s team worked to coax candidates into the race in an effort to split support for the GOP senator. According to the report, a Peltola staffer was instructed in the summer of 2025 to find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as possible.
The candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is a retired schoolteacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg. A top state elections official earlier ruled him ineligible for the primary ballot, concluding his candidacy was filed to confuse or mislead voters. The Alaska Supreme Court later ruled he was qualified to run. He has long denied running at Democrats’ behest, saying in June he had “zero, none, zilch” contact with Peltola’s campaign.
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied involvement. “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” a spokesperson said. At a campaign stop in Soldotna, Peltola dismissed the report. “This is just another distraction. It’s another diversion,” she said.
Republicans have hit back hard. President Trump told reporters Wednesday, “I think they should be prosecuted,” and wrote that Peltola “should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done.” Trump had previously directed the Justice Department to sue to block certification of a Peltola win if Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. remains on the ballot.
Vice President JD Vance stopped short of calling for prosecution but backed an investigation. “She is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska, and it’s disgraceful,” Vance said.
Sen. Sullivan told Fox News that Peltola should “come clean,” and Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, accused the campaign of a “pattern of lies.”
“Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along,” Sullivan’s campaign said.
Alaska voters will see “Dan S. Sullivan” listed as the registered Republican incumbent, while “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” will appear without a party affiliation.
The race is among a handful expected to decide control of the Senate. A Washington Post analysis of polls shows Peltola leading by an average of five points heading into Tuesday’s election.
