Alaska Governor Orders Probe into Peltola Senate Campaign Amid Name Controversy
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Published by: The Seattle Times
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October 29, 2026: Article #11368 was withdrawn as repeat coverage of the same October 28 Dunleavy investigation announcement already covered here; the duplicate URL now redirects to this corrected report.
October 29, 2026: Corrected the investigation announcement date from October 29 to late October 28, 2026. Distinguished Trump's Wednesday call for prosecution from his Thursday comment about seating the winner. Clarified that earlier election-board concerns existed and no finding from the new investigation had been announced. Added independently reported coverage because the original Seattle Times and PBS pages were syndicated versions of the same AP report.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said late Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that he was directing the state Department of Public Safety to investigate allegations involving Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign. He acted after New York Times reporting suggested people aligned with the campaign had helped recruit an independent Senate candidate with a name similar to Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
The governor said the reported evidence supported concerns previously examined by Alaska's Division of Elections. His announcement called for an investigation into whether Alaska election laws had been violated and whether criminal or civil action would be appropriate. It did not establish that Peltola or her campaign committed a crime.
Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump called for Peltola's prosecution. On Thursday, he separately questioned whether Peltola could take her Senate seat if elected. Peltola has called the controversy a distraction from policy issues, including Senator Sullivan's support for the war in Iran.
The separate candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., has denied that Democrats recruited him or that he contacted Peltola's campaign. Alaska's Supreme Court previously ruled that he was qualified to appear on the ballot despite election officials' earlier objections. No final conclusion from Dunleavy's new public safety investigation had been announced as of October 29.
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