Gov. Mike Dunleavy said an investigation into Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s alleged involvement in recruiting a second candidate named Dan Sullivan could affect certification of the Nov. 3 election, although state law assigns that responsibility to Alaska’s elections director.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy warned Thursday, Oct. 29, that the state’s U.S. Senate election certification could be stopped or changed if investigators uncover illegal conduct involving Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign and an alleged effort to recruit a candidate sharing the name of Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The Republican governor made the remarks during an interview with NewsNation, one day after directing the Alaska Department of Public Safety to investigate allegations that Democratic operatives helped recruit a retired teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan to enter the closely contested Senate race.
“If we find out there’s wrongdoing, and if that means that the certification then is stopped or changed, then that’s what happens,” Dunleavy told NewsNation’s Blake Burman.
Asked whether stopping or changing certification was a genuine possibility, the governor replied, “Depending upon the outcomes of this investigation. Yes.”
Dunleavy declined to guarantee that the election results would be certified if Peltola defeated the Republican incumbent while the investigation remained underway. He emphasized that authorities would examine the evidence before determining whether criminal charges, civil action or other measures were warranted.
“We are going to investigate it. We’re going to follow the law,” Dunleavy said. “We are ready to do whatever we need to do to ensure that our elections are deemed credible.”
The controversy stems from an Oct. 28 New York Times investigation detailing allegations that individuals associated with Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked to recruit additional candidates for Alaska’s four-person general election ballot.
The report identified Democratic political strategist Jerid Kurtz as a central figure in the alleged effort. According to former Peltola campaign manager Elisa Rios, Kurtz contacted Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, who shared the incumbent senator’s first and last names.
Rios said Kurtz described the prospective candidate as someone who opposed President Donald Trump and was willing to run if doing so would benefit Peltola.
The allegations have raised concerns that some voters could mistakenly select the retired teacher instead of the Republican senator.
Dunleavy announced his investigation Wednesday, saying the reported activities warranted examination for potential violations of Alaska election law.
“Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support,” Dunleavy said in his announcement. “Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation, a division of the Department of Public Safety, will conduct the inquiry. Department spokesperson Austin McDaniel confirmed that investigators had been assigned to the matter but declined to discuss specific investigative steps.
“We recognize that Alaskans want and deserve fact-based answers surrounding these allegations, and we are committed to providing accurate information as the investigation progresses,” McDaniel said, according to Alaska Public Media.
The investigation comes as federal authorities pursue a separate examination of the alleged recruitment operation. The Justice Department has issued subpoenas and is investigating whether individuals involved in the effort violated federal election laws.
The Trump administration has also filed a civil lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying the Senate race under certain circumstances if the Republican incumbent loses.
The federal complaint challenges the potential effect of the similarly named candidate on the election, particularly if the final margin is narrow enough that ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan could affect the outcome.
Alaska officials have opposed the federal lawsuit, arguing that the government’s proposed intervention lacks a legal basis and could interfere with established election procedures.
In a response to the Justice Department’s lawsuit, state attorneys argued that determining whether individual voters intended to support a different candidate would conflict with the constitutional protections surrounding secret ballots.
The state’s position creates a distinction between Dunleavy’s public statements about potentially withholding certification and the legal arguments presented by Alaska’s own election officials.
Under Alaska law, the director of the Division of Elections is responsible for certifying election results after the required review of ballots and vote totals. The statute directs the elections director to certify the candidate receiving the most votes under the applicable counting procedures.
The governor does not personally certify the Senate election, meaning Dunleavy’s ability to stop or change certification remains legally uncertain.
As Axios reported following the interview, the governor’s remarks could create a dispute over the election outcome if Peltola wins, particularly if the investigation remains unresolved when state officials are scheduled to certify the results.
Dunleavy’s term expires Dec. 7, after Alaska’s anticipated certification date.
The legal dispute has also involved the Alaska Supreme Court, which previously ordered that Daniel J. Sullivan be permitted to appear on the ballot after election officials challenged his candidacy.
The court determined that the candidate satisfied the applicable ballot-access requirements. The ruling did not establish that his candidacy was free of political motivations, but it rejected the argument that those motivations justified excluding him from the election.
Dunleavy suggested Thursday that the court might have reached a different conclusion if the recently reported allegations had been available during the earlier proceedings.
“We did not want this individual on our ballot. It was the Supreme Court of Alaska that made that decision,” he said. “I think now with this additional information … they probably would have arrived at a different conclusion.”
Former Alaska Republican political operative and attorney Scott Kendall questioned whether the allegations could justify stopping certification, noting that politically motivated candidate recruitment does not necessarily constitute an election-law violation.
“There can be bad motives behind it, but according to our Alaska Supreme Court, which is empowered to interpret Alaska law, it is not illegal,” Kendall said, according to The Hill’s reporting.
Peltola has denied knowing about the alleged recruitment strategy and rejected suggestions that she participated in an effort to mislead voters.
“I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,” Peltola said Thursday. “That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters.”
Her campaign criticized Dunleavy’s remarks, arguing that the governor was threatening to interfere with the democratic process before voters had completed casting their ballots.
Peltola and Sullivan are competing in one of the country’s closely watched Senate races. Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system allows voters to rank candidates by preference, with additional counting rounds conducted if no candidate initially receives a majority.
Both men named Dan Sullivan remain on the ballot alongside Peltola and another candidate. The existence of multiple candidates with similar names has prompted concerns about voter confusion, although the extent to which the names could affect voting remains undetermined.
The dispute has intensified during the final days before Election Day, with early voting already underway and federal and state investigations continuing.
Dunleavy maintained that his administration would pursue any evidence of wrongdoing, regardless of which individuals or organizations were implicated.
“We’re going to investigate everyone and every organization associated with this,” he said. “This strikes to the heart of election integrity. You can’t just dismiss what could be a ruse that could throw an election.”
No finding of criminal misconduct involving Peltola’s campaign has been announced, and allegations that Democratic operatives recruited a candidate for political advantage do not independently establish that state or federal election laws were violated.
Whether the investigation could lawfully affect certification will depend on the evidence uncovered, applicable election statutes and any subsequent court rulings.
For now, Alaska’s Senate election remains scheduled for Nov. 3, with Dunleavy’s warning introducing the possibility of a legal confrontation over certification if the final result is close or investigators identify conduct they believe warrants enforcement action.
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