Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into an alleged scheme to manipulate the state's elections, responding to a report by The New York Times.
The governor stated that the probe will determine if Alaska's laws were violated and whether criminal or civil charges are warranted.
The New York Times reported that the campaign team of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, along with senior aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), allegedly worked to recruit a man named Dan Sullivan to run in the Senate race. This individual shares the name of the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who is Peltola's opponent.
According to the report, the strategy was part of a broader effort to encourage other potential "spoiler" candidates to enter the race to dilute support for the incumbent senator. The newspaper cited text messages and interviews with individuals involved in or aware of the plan.
Senator Dan Sullivan and other Republicans have accused Peltola's campaign of attempting to confuse voters. President Donald Trump has also commented on the report, calling for Peltola to be barred from the ballot and reiterating his endorsement for Senator Sullivan.
Officials with Peltola's campaign have denied any wrongdoing or that they encouraged the second Dan Sullivan to run. The man in question, a retired teacher, has also denied any links to the Peltola campaign, telling The New York Times in August that he was running in good faith as a moderate Republican, despite having voted for Peltola in prior elections.
The ballot is set to list the incumbent Republican Senator as Dan S Sullivan and the retired teacher as Daniel J Sullivan Jr. Previous attempts by Republicans to remove the retired teacher from the ballot were rejected by the Alaska Supreme Court.
Alaska's ranked-choice voting system allows voters to rank candidates, and analysts consider the race between Peltola and Senator Sullivan to be one of the tightest in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. Americans will cast their ballots on Tuesday.