By Tom Ozimek

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered the state to investigate whether aides to U.S. Senate hopeful Mary Peltola worked with national Democrats to recruit spoiler candidates onto the ballot.

In his Oct. 29 announcement, Dunleavy cited a recent report by The New York Times alleging a months-long scheme to peel votes from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Ala.), who is seeking reelection in the upcoming midterms.

“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,” Dunleavy wrote in a post on X.

Peltola campaign aides, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) staff, and a Democratic operative spent months recruiting candidates to draw votes from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), The New York Times reported on Oct. 28.

The report claimed that the effort helped bring Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, into the race.

In June, the Alaska Division of Elections investigated these concerns, with a press release citing “credible allegations” that Dan J. Sullivan filed to run in coordination with another campaign “with the deliberate intent to confuse Alaska voters” because his name was similar to the Republican senator’s, which is Dan S. Sullivan.

Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher found that the challenger did not file his candidacy in good faith and was not eligible to appear on the ballot.

An Alaska judge later ordered Dan J. Sullivan’s name to appear on the ballot, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

Peltola, a former Democratic congresswoman, faces Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Republican Gerald Heikes on Tuesday’s ballot.

Dan J. Sullivan has denied any intent to confuse voters, describing himself as a “qualified candidate who followed the rules” and filed to run for office using his legal name. In a June 11 statement, he said the people of Alaska are fully capable of deciding who should represent them in Washington and that the incumbent should not resort to “legal maneuvers to limit who can challenge him.”

Dunleavy said in his Oct. 29 statement that the new reporting from The New York Times supports the division’s findings.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at the White House in Washington on July 16, 2020. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

“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,” he wrote. “The evidence will determine what happens next.”

The Republican governor added that Alaskan voters have the right to vote for the candidate they intend to support and that tricking voters into voting for a different candidate “strikes at the integrity of our elections.”

“Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable,” he said.

Separately, the Justice Department has sued to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses, citing tainted results because Dan J. Sullivan was included on the ballot.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Peltola should drop out of the race, adding that he believes she should face criminal charges.

“To me, that’s voter fraud at the highest level,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, adding that the “fake Dan Sullivan” should be taken off the ballot.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC for comment, but received no response by publication time.

Previously, in response to the allegations made in the New York Times report, Peltola’s campaign denied that its aides worked with national Democrats to recruit spoiler candidates.

“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

The spokesperson added that Peltola is focused on lowering the cost of living for American families and fixing what she calls a rigged system in Washington.

The DSCC denied involvement in a statement to The New York Times.

Chase Smith contributed to this report.