Report Alleges Fraudulent Alaska Plan to Split the Vote

WHO:

NPR - Some Mary Peltola supporters said they disliked the alleged recruitment effort but continued to support her; others called the Republican response hypocritical.

NPR - Sen. Dan Sullivan said on Fox News that Peltola was “lying and cheating.”

NPR - Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state agency to investigate whether the alleged spoiler-recruitment operation violated any laws.

NPR - Amber McClelland, a Democrat in Anchorage, said recruiting a candidate to draw votes from an opponent was “kind of messed up,” adding that Republicans had “done everything that they can do to win, including cheat.”

NPR - An RNC spokesman said the alleged spoiler was unusual because he shared the incumbent senator’s name.

CNN - Judge Sharon Gleason is considering requests from Alaska election officials, Democrats and outside groups to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit.

CNN - Alaska’s Republican-led elections office previously tried to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot, but the state supreme court stopped it.

NBC News Politics - Mary Peltola said she knew nothing about efforts to get another Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

NY Post - The New York Times investigation described alleged operatives linked to Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Fox News - The Republican National Committee (RNC) accused Democrats of recruiting a second Dan Sullivan for Alaska’s Senate ballot.

BBC News - Dan S. Sullivan is the incumbent Republican senator seeking re-election; Dan J. Sullivan is another candidate in the race.

BBC News - Dan J. Sullivan denied knowing about the alleged plot.

WHAT:

NPR - President Trump flew to Alaska to campaign for Sullivan.

NPR - Peltola said she was keeping her campaign focused on affordability while addressing the allegations.

NPR - A Republican-aligned group spent significant money trying to get an Arizona Green Party candidate onto Alaska’s U.S. Senate ballot; he did not advance past the state’s top-four primary.

NPR - A Republican-affiliated super PAC tried to put Eric Hafner’s mother on Alaska’s Senate ballot as a Democratic spoiler; she lost in the primary.

NPR - Two years earlier, Republicans went to court to defend Eric Hafner’s right to run against Mary Peltola for U.S. House while he was serving a prison sentence in New York.

NPR - Several legal experts said they knew of no legal violations based on the reporting they had read; one law professor called the DOJ case “a press release dressed up as a lawsuit.”

CNN - The Justice Department asked the court to set aside votes for Daniel J. Sullivan and to order the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Mary Peltola’s campaign to comply quickly with discovery requests.

CNN - The Justice Department’s lawsuit seeks to delay election certification if incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses, while it investigates whether voter confusion caused his defeat.

CNN - The Justice Department described its discovery requests as “tailored” and aimed at determining whether Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy was “frivolous or fraudulent.”

CNN - Alaska election officials, Democrats and outside groups asked Judge Gleason to dismiss the lawsuit.

NBC News - A Justice Department court filing requested that ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan in the Senate race be separated.

NBC News - The filing cited potential “voter confusion” but did not explain how separating the ballots would establish whether a voter was confused.

NBC News Politics - Federal prosecutors announced they are pursuing a criminal probe into the Alaska Senate race.

NY Post - A New York Times investigation reported an alleged effort to recruit a second Dan Sullivan.

NY Post - Nearly 1 in 10 Alaskans had voted, according to the article’s headline.

Fox News - The RNC rejected the narrative that spoiler candidates were present “on both sides” and called the alleged Alaska scheme “fraudulent.”

BBC News - Dan S. Sullivan and his allies accused Democrats of trying to confuse voters by recruiting Dan J. Sullivan to run in the same Senate race.

WHERE:

NPR - Peltola gave a speech at a bar in Juneau, Alaska’s capital.

NPR - Gov. Dunleavy ordered the investigation in Alaska; NPR’s Liz Ruskin reported from Anchorage.

NBC News Politics - Federal prosecutors’ investigation concerns the Alaska Senate race.

NY Post - The alleged recruitment effort concerned Alaska’s Senate race.

Fox News - The alleged scheme concerned Alaska’s Senate ballot.

BBC News - The candidates were running in Alaska’s Senate race.

WHEN:

CNN - Judge Sharon Gleason set a quick timeline that could resolve the case by Monday.

WHY:

BBC News - Dan S. Sullivan and his allies said the alleged recruitment was intended to confuse voters.

Fox News - The RNC said the alleged recruitment could confuse voters.

HOW:

NPR - Mary Peltola said, “I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,” and, “I am not interested in tricking voters.”

CNN - The Justice Department argued that “a sham candidate on the ballot with the same name as the incumbent might confuse voters” and called separating ballots that ranked Daniel J. Sullivan a “negligible further burden” on defendants.

NY Post - The reported effort allegedly involved operatives linked to Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recruiting another candidate named Dan Sullivan.

Fox News - The RNC said the alleged recruitment put a second Dan Sullivan on Alaska’s Senate ballot.

Fox News - The article said the Department of Justice was intensifying a criminal probe into the alleged scheme.

(UPDATED October 31, 2026 09:57 UTC)

Federal prosecutors are probing Alaska’s Senate race over an alleged namesake spoiler scheme. Mary Peltola denies knowing about it, while Senator Dan Sullivan accuses her of cheating. Alaska’s governor ordered an investigation, and election officials are asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

(UPDATED October 31, 2026 06:58 UTC)

Federal prosecutors are probing alleged efforts to recruit a namesake candidate in Alaska’s Senate race. Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation into possible legal violations. Mary Peltola denied knowing about recruitment efforts, as election officials and Democrats seek dismissal of the lawsuit.

(UPDATED October 31, 2026 01:02 UTC)

Federal prosecutors are investigating Alaska’s Senate race over allegations that a second Dan Sullivan could confuse voters. The Justice Department seeks to separate votes for Daniel J. Sullivan and delay certification if needed. Alaska officials, Democrats and outside groups are asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

(UPDATED October 30, 2026 23:57 UTC)

Federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation into an alleged plot involving Alaska’s Senate race. Republicans accuse Democrats of recruiting a second Dan Sullivan to confuse voters; Peltola denies knowledge. The Justice Department seeks to separate ballots for Dan J. Sullivan, citing potential voter confusion.

(UPDATED October 30, 2026 22:59 UTC)

Federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal probe into Alaska’s Senate race and an alleged recruitment effort. Republicans say Democrats sought a second Dan Sullivan to confuse voters; both candidates deny involvement. Mary Peltola says she knew nothing about the effort, which reportedly involved Democratic-linked operatives.

(UPDATED October 30, 2026 15:07 UTC)

A New York Times investigation reported an alleged effort to recruit another Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s Senate race. Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and allies say the move could confuse voters. The other candidate denies knowing about the alleged plot; the RNC calls it fraudulent.