Alaska’s high-stakes US Senate race, already one of the contests most likely to tip control of Washington, has been jolted by an order from the state’s Republican governor to investigate claims that Democrats tried to game the ballot.
Governor Mike Dunleavy directed a state probe into allegations aired in a New York Times report that Democrats recruited spoiler candidates in the race.
The Times said aides to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola worked to recruit two candidates who could peel away votes from incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
The accusations set the stage for a bruising fight just days before next Tuesday’s midterm elections, with the possibility that any post-election dispute could drag on.
Alaska is one of about 10 fiercely competitive races expected to decide control of the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats, and a prolonged fight over Alaska’s results could leave the balance of power unsettled for weeks.
Dunleavy said investigators would look into whether any laws were violated, writing on X that “the evidence will determine what happens next”.
Democratic candidate Mary Peltola is in a tight race with incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan
President Donald Trump, speaking with reporters, seized on the allegations to question Ms Peltola’s candidacy. “It’s hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run. Frankly, I don’t know how you can allow somebody like that to run. It’s so unfair,” he said.
Mr Trump has for years cast doubt on the integrity of US elections and, even before the Times report, had urged the Justice Department to file a lawsuit seeking to pre-emptively block Alaska from certifying Ms Peltola — a former congresswoman — if she wins.
In its account published today, the Times reported that Peltola aides worked alongside campaign lawyers and staff at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit two potential vote-splitters against Sullivan. Among them, the paper said, is a retired teacher also named Dan Sullivan who is on the ballot.
Elisa Rios, Ms Peltola’s former campaign manager who was fired in August, told the Times that Ms Peltola knew about the effort.
Ms Peltola’s campaign rejected the suggestion of coordination, saying it “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign”.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also denied any role and countered that Republicans have boosted candidates of their own in other races.
‘Alaskans deserve the honest truth’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, blasted what he described as the “crazy tactics” of Democrats in Alaska.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Johnson said: “We hope it doesn’t confuse voters, but that’s exactly what the Democrats tried to do here.
“They got caught red-handed.”
Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski also weighed in, urging Ms Peltola to level with voters.
“Recruiting candidates to manipulate the field and influence voting outcomes is simply wrong,” Murkowski wrote on X.
“Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign – what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and cover-ups and a culture of deception that belongs nowhere in our elections or among our elected officials,” she added.
Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles who specialises in election law, said the legal picture may be limited. As long as Daniel J Sullivan — the challenger to the incumbent — did not hide financial backing, she said, his campaign likely did not violate any laws, and political parties are permitted to mislead the public.
Levinson argued that trying to police such manoeuvres would invite government scrutiny into why candidates run and why voters choose them.
“To the extent that people are uncomfortable with two Sullivans, I would offer you’re probably going to be uncomfortable with a really high level of government intrusion into our elections as well,” she added.
Rex Van Middlesworth, an executive board member of Keep Our Republic, a nonpartisan group focused on bolstering trust in US elections, told reporters on a call that nothing would remove the second Sullivan from the ballot or disqualify Ms Peltola.
He described the Justice Department’s lawsuit as “frivolous even by current DOJ standards”, arguing it points to no provision of law.
