Alaska probes for manipulation in Senate race with two Sullivans

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, said Thursday that he launched an investigation into whether Democrats intentionally manipulated the state’s U.S. Senate race. Democratic candidate Mary Peltola is running against Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan—but the similarly-named Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. is also on the ballot. The second Sullivan originally ran as a Republican during the GOP primary. Once the incumbent won the primary, the challenger switched to no party affiliation, an independent candidate for the general election. Dunleavy said he was concerned by a recent New York Times report that Peltola’s campaign aides recruited the second Dan Sullivan in order to confuse voters.

Dunleavy said he directed the Alaska Department of Public Safety to investigate whether anyone violated state laws and whether criminal charges or civil action were warranted. The evidence would determine what happened next, he said.

However, it was unclear if Dunleavy’s new investigation or the Times’ report would change anything by Election Day. Alaska courts previously ruled that the second Dan Sullivan’s candidacy was legitimate. The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of the election results if votes for the second Dan Sullivan change the race’s outcome. But Alaska’s Division of Elections on Monday asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it had no legal basis.

Dig deeper: Read Joanna Innsco’s report on the situation for further details.