Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into Democrats’ reported plan to stack the state’s Senate ballot with a second candidate named Dan Sullivan.
The Republican governor accused Democrats of trying to “deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes.”
“The evidence will determine what happens next,” Dunleavy posted on X.
The governor did not specify what laws may have been broken.
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“Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support,” he wrote. “Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”
Dunleavy’s order comes after a frantic 24 hours in Alaskan politics. The New York Times reported that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee secretly recruited candidates into the race, ultimately Dan J. Sullivan, who shares a name with the incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
The DSCC and the Peltola campaign have both denied being involved in the ballot-stacking plan.
Following the Times’ reporting, President Donald Trump said Peltola should face “legal and political consequences.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) called the plan “a pattern of lies and coverups.”
Ballot-stacking strategies have been employed by both parties for years and some Democrats have, if not outright defended the alleged actions of the Peltola campaign, pointed to examples of Republicans engaging in similar behavior.
In 2024, when Peltola was running for reelection to the House, the state Republican Party legally backed a Democrat on the ballot who had just begun a 20 year prison sentence across the country. The candidate is on the ballot again this year.
Last Friday, the Trump administration preemptively sued the state of Alaska, effectively laying out its plan for contesting a race outcome where the incumbent Republican loses, citing potential voter confusion. On Wednesday night, a federal judge allowed Democrats to intervene in the case, teeing up a decision as soon as this week.
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