Alaska Senate Race Faces Investigation Over Duplicate Candidate Names

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into alleged election manipulation after two candidates named Dan Sullivan appeared on the state’s midterm ballot for the U.S. Senate. The probe follows reports that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola attempted to recruit a challenger with the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.

President Donald Trump called the situation a fraud on Thursday before departing for South Carolina. He stated, "So nobody’s going to know what to do. That’s a fraud. And it shouldn’t be allowed to happen. And it was done in conjunction with Schumer and everybody else. It’s an absolute, it’s called voter fraud," Trump said.

Vice President JD Vance supported the president's stance, describing the event as a moral failing. He said, "It’s disgraceful, so whether it’s criminal or not, she certainly has committed, I think, a great moral failing and hopefully the voters of Alaska punish her."

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced a separate inquiry on Thursday. He is examining whether the Peltola campaign intentionally confused voters. Comer sent a letter requesting in-person testimony from key Peltola campaign staffers next week.

Peltola’s campaign responded in a statement, asserting it had "no involvement with either Sullivan campaign." The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Peltola’s staffers pursued the candidate with the identical name. The effort is not illegal under current rules.

Alaska’s highest state court previously ruled that both men would remain on the ballot. The ballot lists Daniel J. Sullivan without modifiers. Daniel S. Sullivan appears with the labels incumbent and Republican next to his name. Alaska uses ranked choice voting for its elections. If no candidate wins a majority in Tuesday’s vote, officials will tally the ranked choices to determine the winner.