DOJ and Alaska Probe Peltola Campaign Over Decoy Candidate
The U.S. Department of Justice and Alaska officials are investigating Mary Peltola's campaign for allegedly recruiting a namesake decoy to siphon votes from Senator Dan Sullivan.
The United States Department of Justice and the state of Alaska have launched overlapping criminal and civil investigations into whether Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) orchestrated a "ballot-stacking" scheme to manipulate the 2026 U.S. Senate race. The probe follows a New York Times report alleging that Democratic operatives recruited Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher, to run as an independent to confuse voters and siphon support from Republican incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
Federal prosecutors issued over 40 grand jury subpoenas and records-preservation demands, exploring potential conspiracy charges under civil rights statutes. Simultaneously, Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered the Alaska Department of Public Safety to investigate potential state law violations, warning that illegalities could impact whether a candidate is seated in the Senate. The Justice Department also filed a lawsuit to block the certification of results if Senator Sullivan loses by a narrow margin, though a federal judge dismissed the suit on Sunday due to lack of standing and voter secrecy concerns. The DOJ intends to appeal this decision.
President Donald Trump characterized the operation as "voter fraud at the highest level" and suggested the election might need to be redone if Peltola wins. Peltola and the DSCC have denied all involvement, with Peltola dismissing the allegations as a "distraction" and a "smear campaign." Former campaign manager Elisa Rios initially claimed Peltola was aware of the project before later seeking to retract those statements. Amid the investigations, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. reportedly fled his hometown of Petersburg for Anchorage.
