By — Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press By — Joshua Goodman, Associated Press Joshua Goodman, Associated Press By — Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/top-federal-prosecutor-in-alaska-says-criminal-probe-underway-over-would-be-spoiler-senate-candidate Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Top federal prosecutor in Alaska says criminal probe underway over would-be spoiler Senate candidate Politics Oct 30, 2026 6:12 PM EDT ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The top federal prosecutor in Alaska confirmed on Friday the existence of a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent. The investigation has been ongoing for several months, but revelations this week from The New York Times that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan have resulted in a "significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska," U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters. WATCH: Republicans seize on controversy in Alaska's closely watched Senate race "When credible information…
Top federal prosecutor in Alaska says criminal probe underway over would-be spoiler Senate candidate
In short
The monthslong inquiry escalated after allegations surfaced that Democratic challenger Mary Peltola's campaign participated in recruiting a candidate who shares the same name as incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan. In addition to the criminal probe, the Justice Department is pursuing civil litigation to segregate and preserve all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan to evaluate voter confusion under the state's ranked voting system. Federal attorneys have also submitted questions seeking to force the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer for their reported recruitment activities. Peltola maintains that she had no knowledge of any coordinated effort to recru…
Key points
- Federal prosecutors are actively examining whether a duplicate candidate was intentionall…: Federal prosecutors are actively examining whether a duplicate candidate was intentionally recruited to deceive voters in the Senate race.
- Alaska state attorneys argue that adequate measures were already taken on ranked-choice b…: Alaska state attorneys argue that adequate measures were already taken on ranked-choice ballots to distinguish between the two candidates.
- Democratic challenger Mary Peltola has denied having any prior knowledge of efforts to re…: Democratic challenger Mary Peltola has denied having any prior knowledge of efforts to recruit Dan J. Sullivan to the ballot.