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Alaska Governor Orders Investigation into Peltola's Campaign Over 'Decoy Dan'

Updated 10:21 PM ET · 7:35 PM ETConfirmed

Politics Desk

In Short: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) has ordered an investigation into whether members of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign should face charges for possible election manipulation regarding a candidate named Dan Sullivan.

The controversy centers around a New York Times report detailing an alleged effort by Peltola’s campaign and national Democrats to recruit a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.

At a rally in Soldotna, Peltola said the media’s focus should be on Alaska’s high cost of living and Sen. Sullivan’s support of the war in Iran, not who is on the ballot.

Peltola’s campaign manager, Cheryl Bruce, said the candidate was in “good spirits” following a car crash that injured Peltola and her family while driving to a campaign stop.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety has been directed to investigate after the New York Times report detailed an alleged effort involving people connected to Peltola's campaign and national Democrats.

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses to Peltola.

The lawsuit contends that federal law requires states to protect the integrity of federal elections.

Peltola’s campaign has denied any involvement with the recruitment of the candidate named Dan Sullivan.

The campaign stated, “Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any politician will keep her away from that fight.”

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Senator—to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes.
• The new reporting substantially supports the Division’s findings.
• "Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any politician will keep her away from that fight. The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign."

What's still developing

• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) ordered an investigation into whether members of Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign should face charges for possible election manipulation regarding “Decoy Dan” Sullivan.
• “Nobody at the New York Times cares about affordability in Alaska.” pic.twitter.com/Ptg9kEOAtH Donations tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. a.
• Here are our previous reports: Peltola called the attention to the supposed scheme a distraction because yeah, the NYT has such a history of going after Democrats: This is just another distraction.
• I mean, it took a NYT piece about “Decoy Dan” to finally make you move, Dunleavy?
• Morgan publicly acknowledged organizing it and said he had tried to recruit more people with the name.Attorney General Ferguson’s campaign sent cease-and-desist letters citing RCW 29A.84.320 (the longstanding state law making it a felony to file under a name similar to a well-known candidate with intent to confuse/mislead voters).
• As evidence mounts that the identically named “Republican” running against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) is a plant from former Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) campaign, President Donald Trump is calling for the accused fraudsters to be booted from the race and made to face legal consequences.
• Related : Washington State Stonewalls Feds Over 400 Noncitizen Voter “So they got a guy named Dan Sullivan to go up against on the ballot [against Sen.] Dan, so you split — It's called splitting the vote, totally wrong, totally illegal,” Trump argued.
• The Times reports that an effort internally called the “ballot composition project” sought potential candidates who could dilute support for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, including another Alaska resident named Dan Sullivan.
• “It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan to run against our distinguished Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan, in order to defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election, thereby taking votes away from the REAL Senator, Dan Sullivan,” Trump wrote on Wednesday.
• Pulling COVID-19 vaccines off the market, decreasing medications for children, cleaning up water, and putting fresh food in schools are all “pro-life issues,” according to Iowa Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn.
• The New York Times reported Wednesday that Peltola campaign staffers and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were allegedly involved in a monthslong scheme to stack the ballot with candidates and recruit other men named Dan Sullivan, all in the hopes of siphoning off votes from the Republican incumbent.
• Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, discusses allegations his opponent, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Mary Peltola, worked with operatives to recruit another Dan Sullivan to run for Senate on ‘Hannity.’ In the wake of a New York Times report detailing an alleged Democrat-linked election scheme by the campaign team of Rep. Mary Peltola that involved the recruitment of a candidate with nearly the exact same name as an incumbent GOP senator, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that he was ordering a probe into the matter.

Sources

• Daily Maillink
• Legalinsurrectionlink
• PJ Medialink
• The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Showlink
• Kdhnewslink
• Washingtonexaminerlink
• Washingtonsunlink
• Alaskapubliclink
• Fox Newslink
• Chicagotribunelink
• Scrippsnewslink
• Radaronlinelink
• Ktoolink
• Justthenewslink
• WarpBeat — background on Peltola's Campaign Linked to 'Decoy Dan' Scheme link
• WarpBeat — background on Alaska Governor Orders Probe Into Peltola's Campaign Over 'Decoy Dan' link
• ABC News — video link