Peltola Campaign Faces Several Investigations After ‘Ballot Stacking’ Report as Governor Threatens To Try To Block Her Potential Win

Mary Peltola’s campaign for the United States Senate is now facing multiple investigations after a report from the New York Times was published detailing how her allies had worked to install a spoiler candidate on this year’s ballot. The Trump administration, the GOP-led state government, and a subcommittee in Congress is now probing the matter. Ms. Peltola, a former congresswoman from the state, announced her Senate candidacy earlier this year to much fanfare. She raised millions of dollars more than the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan Sullivan, and has led him in the polls for most of the year. In the blanket primary election, Ms. Peltola finished in first place, more than eight points ahead of Mr. Sullivan. The Times’ report has rocked the state of the race, however. The report — citing both on-the-record conversations and private correspondence among Democratic operatives — details how Ms. Peltola’s campaign allegedly pushed to include another Republican on the ballot. That candidate is named Dan J. Sullivan. He is a retired teacher living in a remote area of the state and has done zero notable campaigning since he jumped in. He came in third place in the primary, securing a spot on the November ballot where Alaskans will choose their senator in a ranked-choice vote. The Times found no evidence that Ms. Peltola was personally involved in the effort, and her campaign has denied any wrongdoing. On Thursday, Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, said he may work to not certify Ms. Peltola’s victory next week if the state government finds evidence that the inclusion of the non-senator Mr. Sullivan resulted in the senator losing re-election. Republicans have alleged that any effort to include Mr. Sullivan on the ballot for the purpose of spoiling the race could constitute a crime. “We’re going to investigate it. We’re going to follow the law,” Mr. Dunleavy said during an on-air interview with News Nation on Thursday. He said that the outcome of that investigation “may in fact impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate.” “We’re going to ensure that we aren’t going to send a scam to Washington,” he added. In Alaska, elections are certified by the division of elections, which is headed by the lieutenant governor, who in this case is Nancy Dahlstrom, whom Mr. Dunleavy chose to be his running mate in the 2022 election. Mr. Dunleavy also left open the possibility that the state government could send information to the Senate which could give a Republican majority the ability to vote to not seat Ms. Peltola, should she win. Both houses of Congress have the power to not seat would-be members by a simple majority vote, though such a move would almost certainly kick off a legal challenge from Ms. Peltola if she is not seated. On top of the investigation from the Dunleavy administration, the U.S. Department of Justice is also looking into the matter. According to the Associated Press, multiple grand jury subpoenas were sent to potential witnesses on Thursday, though the individuals targeted and the total number of subpoenas was not disclosed. The Times report claimed that multiple Peltola staff members and supporters, as well as Democratic operatives working for a committee dedicated to electing Democrats, were involved in the alleged scheme. Ms. Peltola’s own potential colleagues are also looking into any potential wrongdoing. On Thursday, Senator Ron Johnson, the Republican chairman of a subcommittee that investigates government affairs matters, wrote a letter to several people named in the Times report who were allegedly behind the effort to put the spoiler Mr. Sullivan on the ballot. The letters were addressed to Jerid Kurtz, a Democratic operative who was reportedly a part of the effort, Anton McParland, Ms. Peltola’s then-chief of staff, and Elisa Rios, who at the time was serving as Ms. Peltola’s campaign manager. Ms. Rios, who was fired from her position on Ms. Peltola’s campaign earlier this year, originally went on-the-record with The Times to discuss what Republicans call the “Decoy Dan” issue, but later tried to recant her statements. “If true, the alleged efforts described in the October 28, 2026 article, would amount to a disturbing effort to undermine the integrity of the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Alaska,” Mr. Johnson wrote to the alleged perpetrators of the scheme. He is asking them to preserve all records related to the matter and turn over certain information by November 12.

Peltola Campaign Faces Several Investigations After ‘Ballot Stacking’ Report as Governor Threatens To Try To Block Her Potential Win

Peltola Campaign Faces Several Investigations After ‘Ballot Stacking’ Report as Governor Threatens To Try To Block Her Potential Win

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