Gov. Dunleavy Orders Criminal Probe After NYT Reports on Twin Sullivan Ballot Scheme

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a criminal investigation on Thursday into an alleged election scheme that placed two candidates with nearly identical names on the same U.S. Senate ballot.

The probe follows a New York Times report detailing how the campaign of Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola recruited a retired teacher to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. The new candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., appeared on the ranked-choice voting ballot without a party affiliation, creating a potential source of voter confusion.

"I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted," Dunleavy wrote in a post on X.

The governor said the evidence would determine the next steps in the legal process. He noted that the state Division of Elections had already investigated these specific concerns in June.

The New York Times article, titled "Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Ballot," claimed the effort was broader than a single recruitment. The paper stated the group worked to bring in other candidates to dilute support for the incumbent.

On Oct. 22, the Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit. The suit seeks to delay certification of the election results if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses and votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. could have changed the outcome.

Sen. Dan S. Sullivan criticized his opponent during an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday. "This is what happens when you have a candidate like Peltola, far left, who's got nothing to run on," he said. "What's remarkable here is that even today, she has not apologized."

The Alaskans for Mary campaign told the New York Times it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit candidates. Rep. Peltola’s campaign did not immediately respond to a comment request from Fox News Digital on Thursday.