Alaska Governor Orders Probe Into Alleged Effort to Recruit Second Dan Sullivan for Senate Race

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into whether the alleged recruitment of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan for the state's U.S. Senate race broke any laws. The incumbent senator, a Republican, shares the same name.

The governor issued his order late Wednesday, after The New York Times reported that people in the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola and senior advisors at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked to recruit a retired schoolteacher named Dan Sullivan. According to the report, the aim was to draw votes away from Sen. Dan Sullivan. Dunleavy, like the incumbent, is a Republican.

Peltola's campaign and the DSCC responded to the Times article by saying they are not involved in the retired teacher's campaign.

In a post on X, Dunleavy noted that Alaska's Division of Elections had earlier looked into concerns that the teacher's entry into the Senate primary was meant to confuse voters. The division blocked him from that ballot, but a state court judge reversed the order and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the ruling, which put him on the ballot. "The new reporting substantially supports the Division's findings," the governor wrote.

He said he is directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the scheme violated state law and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted. "The evidence will determine what happens next," Dunleavy said. He added that Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support, and that anyone found to have broken the law must be held accountable.

The order came as a federal judge in Alaska allowed Peltola's campaign and the DSCC to intervene in a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit. The suit seeks to stop the state from immediately certifying any Senate result that may be affected by voter confusion, pending an investigation into whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for the senator. President Donald Trump has said he ordered the DOJ to file the case.

Judge Sharon Gleason has ordered the DOJ to respond by late Thursday afternoon to motions to dismiss from Peltola's campaign, the DSCC, the League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause, the latter two also allowed to intervene. Those groups must reply by early Friday afternoon. The campaign, the DSCC and state election officials want the suit dismissed before Election Day on Nov. 3. State officials argue in a filing that the United States lacks authority to intervene in state elections, "much less in support of a favored candidate."

Asked Thursday whether Senate Republicans should try to block Peltola from taking the seat in January if she wins, Trump said, "Well, you're going to have to see what happens." He also said the retired teacher "was just put there as a fraud." The stakes are high, since the outcome could shape the balance of power in a Senate where Republicans hold a six-vote majority.

A DSCC spokesperson accused Republicans of hypocrisy, citing past and current efforts to promote third-party and dark horse candidates. The spokesperson pointed to the recruitment of a prisoner with a New York address to run against Peltola and nearly half a million dollars spent to place an Arizona resident on Alaska's Senate ballot.

State elections officials say they have taken significant steps to tell the two candidates apart. The teacher appears as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." with no other words beside it, while the senator is listed directly below as "Sullivan, Dan. S." with "Registered Republican, incumbent" in parentheses.