Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced early Thursday that he was ordering an investigation into whether members of Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign should face criminal charges over an alleged effort to manipulate the ballot. The controversy centers on the recruitment of a candidate sharing the name of Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

The investigation followed a Wednesday report from The New York Times describing an effort to recruit candidates who could siphon votes from the incumbent senator. One recruit was Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and former U.S. Forest Service employee.

Dunleavy described the operation as “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.”

The governor directed the Department of Public Safety to determine whether Alaska law was violated and whether criminal charges or civil action should follow. He said the evidence would dictate what happens next.

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“Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support. Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections,” Dunleavy said.

Today’s New York Times reporting 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. The Alaska Division of Elections investigated these very concerns in June of this year. The new reporting substantially supports the Division’s findings.

I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted. The evidence will determine what happens next. Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support. Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections. Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable. — Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) October 29, 2026

BREAKING: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy orders an investigation into an alleged Democrat-linked election scheme involving a candidate with nearly the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

@madeleinerivera reports the governor is directing the Department of Public Safety to determine whether state laws were violated and if criminal charges or civil action are warranted. The move follows a New York Times report alleging individuals connected to Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign helped recruit candidates to potentially confuse voters. Peltola's campaign denies involvement. See what the investigation could mean for Alaska's Senate race: — Fox News (@FoxNews) October 29, 2026

Republicans had repeatedly objected to Dan J. Sullivan appearing on the Nov. 3 general election ballot with Peltola, Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, and Gerald Heikes. The practice known as ballot stacking is legal, it is ethically questionable, and it was not immediately clear what offenses Democrats may have committed.

The Times reported that staffers connected to Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee participated in the recruitment effort. Veteran Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz reportedly contacted Dan J. Sullivan about entering the contest.

Kurtz told Peltola aides earlier this year that Dan J. Sullivan had said he “hated Trump” and would pursue a spoiler campaign “if it was going to help Mary.” Text messages cited by the report also showed concern inside Peltola’s operation that Kurtz was being too conspicuous.

Anton McParland, who was Peltola’s chief of staff at the time, reportedly raised that concern. DSCC director of campaigns Andrew Piatt responded: “We will check in.”

Former Peltola campaign manager Elisa Rios recalled conversations in which Kurtz discussed pseudonyms and cover stories intended to evade possible Republican monitoring. Democrats also contacted former Alaska candidates about entering the race and potentially drawing votes from Sullivan.

Former House candidate Matthew Salisbury confirmed that Kurtz approached him in December 2025 about a possible Senate campaign. “I’m not naïve,” Salisbury told the Times. “I had to have that general idea that they’re not in it for me.”

Dan J. Sullivan has maintained that he entered the contest voluntarily and describes himself as a moderate Republican. The Times previously reported that he participated in “No Kings” protests opposing Trump, supported Peltola during her 2022 and 2024 House campaigns, and keeps a refrigerator magnet depicting Che Guevara.

Alaska’s Division of Elections removed Dan J. Sullivan from the primary ballot in June after finding a “preponderance of the evidence” that his name and Republican affiliation were selected to potentially confuse voters. Days later, the Alaska Supreme Court ordered that he be restored to the ballot.

The court found that state law did not require candidates to run in good faith and instructed election officials to use less drastic measures to distinguish the two Sullivans. The general election ballot identifies Sen. Sullivan as the Republican incumbent and lists the other candidate as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. without a party affiliation.

President Trump called for Peltola to face legal and political consequences after Rios told the Times that Peltola was “definitely aware” of the ballot stacking effort but was not actively involved. Trump accused Democrats of cheating and called the situation election fraud in a Truth Social post Wednesday.

Dan S. Sullivan told Fox News that Peltola should “come clean” about her role and said voters should ask her, “‘Did you cheat?’ She won’t even answer that question.” Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Alaskans deserved the truth from Peltola and her campaign.

Peltola dismissed the Times report during a Wednesday campaign stop in Soldotna as a “distraction” from the cost of living and Sullivan’s support for the war against Iran. “This is all stuff to sell newspapers,” she said. “This is all stuff to get subscriptions.”

Peltola’s campaign said it “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” while the DSCC said it “is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan.” The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week seeking to stop certification of a possible Peltola victory because both Dan Sullivans appear on the ballot.

More than 61,000 ballots had been cast in Alaska through Tuesday, according to AP data. Under the state’s ranked choice voting system, either Peltola or Sullivan must receive more than 50% of the vote to win.