Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign allegedly collaborated with party operatives to confuse voters in midterms

The US justice department on Thursday is reported to have issued subpoenas in response to a report that the Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign collaborated with party operatives to get a challenger with the same name as the Republican senator Dan Sullivan on the midterm ballot.

ABC News and the Associated Press reported the subpoenas, citing sources familiar with the matter. The federal investigation comes a day after the New York Times found that the effort to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan in the Senate race set to be decided on Tuesday was led by Peltola’s campaign, which had for months denied involvement.

Continue reading...

© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

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.

© Becky Bohrer/Associated Press

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.

Republican Mike Dunleavy plans search after Peltola accused of recruiting Dan Sullivan to confuse voters

The Republican governor of Alaska announced plans to launch a criminal investigation after a report accused the campaign of the Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola of trying to confuse voters by recruiting a candidate with the same name as her opponent.

Governor Mike Dunleavy wrote on social media that he was “directing the department of public safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted”.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kerry Tasker/Reuters

© Photograph: Kerry Tasker/Reuters

© Photograph: Kerry Tasker/Reuters

This live blog is now closed.

• Alaska governor orders investigation into Peltola’s Senate campaign

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

With days until the midterm elections, a new poll from CNN places Democrats well in the lead in key Senate races in Texas and Michigan, while projecting tighter contests in Kansas and Maine.

In Texas, the poll found 49% of likely voters would back James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, over Republican Ken Paxton, who netted just 43%.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

Plus, the legacy of Dolores Huerta.

© Javier Soriano/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

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.

President Donald Trump called for Mary Peltola to leave Alaska's Senate race and be prosecuted on Wednesday.

Republicans have condemned the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, calling it a ploy to split votes

Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign was behind an effort to recruit a challenger with almost the same name as the Republican US senator Dan Sullivan, both of whom will appear on the ballot in next week’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Republicans have condemned the presence in the race of two candidates named Dan Sullivan – one the two-term US senator, the second a retiree living in south-eastern Alaska with scant political experience – calling the newcomer a ploy by Democrats to cost the incumbent re-election by splitting his supporters.

Continue reading...

© Composite: AP, Bloomberg, Abaca, Getty Images

© Composite: AP, Bloomberg, Abaca, Getty Images

© Composite: AP, Bloomberg, Abaca, Getty Images

Operatives aligned with Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for Senate, spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican.

© Haven Daley/Associated Press

When Americans cast their ballots in this year's midterm elections, they'll not only be picking who represents them in Congress, but also weighing in on a range of topics that could change their state laws and constitutions.

Democrats are targeting G.O.P. strongholds that could set them up for new majorities. But if they don’t win those races now, it could be a long time before they have another chance.

© Clayton Steward for The New York Times

Peltola required medical attention after the accident, which happened when another vehicle crashed into the one transporting Peltola and her family, the campaign said.

Blanche told CNN's "State of the Union" that President Donald Trump, who said Friday that he was "the one that said do it," is not trying to overturn state election results "in any way, shape or form" on the cusp of the Nov. 3 election.

“There is no legal excuse” for the failure of 18 polling sites to open for early voting, a state lawmaker said.

© Kerry Tasker/Reuters

With moves in Alaska and California, the department has stepped up interventions in the midterm elections as the president’s instrument of unmediated executive power.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

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.

Hope, dread and the final stretch to Election Day.

© The New York Times

President Trump told the Justice Department to intervene in the race, where polling shows Republicans at risk of losing a seat.

© Kerry Tasker/Reuters