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Top federal prosecutor in Alaska says criminal probe underway over would-be spoiler Senate candidate

The Department of Justice also filed with the court a list of proposed questions it seeks to compel the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer about their reported role in recruiting the challenger Dan. J. Sullivan.

Peltola denies knowing about Alaska spoiler candidate as Justice Department escalates investigation

Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola denied Thursday that she knew anything about an effort to put another candidate on the Alaska ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent as the Justice Department escalated a criminal investigation with new grand jury subpoenas.

Republicans Ramp Up Investigation Into Democratic Plan to Pack Alaska’s Ballot

The Justice Department issued subpoenas, a House oversight committee sought interviews and the state opened its own inquiry into a Democratic plan to recruit a spoiler into a Senate race.

Β© Kerry Tasker/Reuters

Republican anger grew on Thursday over a Democratic effort to stack Alaska’s Senate ballot with candidates to siphon votes from the G.O.P. incumbent.

Third-Party Spoilers, Long Fueled by Both Parties, Could Matter This Year

29 October 2026 at 19:00
The other Dan Sullivan in Alaska has drawn the most attention, but both parties are quietly trying to use little-known candidates in other battlegrounds to siphon votes, too.

Β© Becky Bohrer/Associated Press

Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher in Alaska, was recruited by Democratic operatives to join the race against Senator Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican, whose allies have been left worrying that voters will be confused.

Alaska's governor orders a probe into Peltola's Senate campaign over spoiler candidate controversy

29 October 2026 at 17:46
Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into the Democratic candidate running for the U.S. Senate in the state after revelations that her campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting another candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.

Alaska Governor Orders Criminal Investigation Into Peltola Campaign

President Trump had lashed out at Mary Peltola after The New York Times reported that her campaign and national Democrats helped recruit spoiler candidates to the race. He offered no explanation of what crime may have been committed.

Β© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump campaigned this month for Senator Dan S. Sullivan of Alaska, a Republican running for re-election this year against Mary Peltola, a Democrat and former congresswoman.

Trump calls for prosecution of Alaska Senate candidate Peltola over Sullivan name controversy

President Donald Trump called for the criminal prosecution of the Democratic candidate running for Senate in Alaska on Wednesday after revelations that her campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.

Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Midterm Ballot With Another Dan Sullivan

28 October 2026 at 17:37
Operatives aligned with Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for Senate, spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican.

Β© Haven Daley/Associated Press

A sample ballot showing candidates for next week’s U.S. Senate race in Alaska lists two Dan Sullivans (highlight added here to both), along with Mary Peltola, the Democrat, and a fourth candidate named Gerald Heikes.

What's going on with Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan? The Alaska Senate litigation, explained

One of them is a Republican senator and ally of the president. The other is a retired schoolteacher whom Republicans accuse of being a Democratic plant to siphon away votes.

WATCH: Trump says he ordered DOJ lawsuit over Alaska Senate race

The lawsuit centers on one of the president's longstanding complaints in the Senate race β€” the presence of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan who Republicans fear could siphon away votes from the incumbent in what's likely to be a photo-finish contest with Democrat Mary Peltola.

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