Mike Dunleavy Orders Probe Into Alleged Senate Spoiler Recruitment

What changed

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered the Department of Public Safety to investigate alleged efforts to recruit a second candidate named Sullivan into the state’s closely watched Senate race.

The ballot is expected to list:

• Dan S Sullivan, the incumbent Republican senator
• Daniel J Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher

Dunleavy said investigators will examine possible violations of Alaska law and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted. The Alaska Supreme Court has already rejected attempts to remove Daniel J Sullivan Jr. from the ballot.

Why it matters

The name overlap matters because Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. A voter unsure which Sullivan is the incumbent could select both, making the ballot unusually vulnerable to confusion in a race expected to be among the tightest of the midterm elections.

The allegations center on claims that people connected to Mary Peltola’s Democratic campaign and senior Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aides tried to recruit Daniel J Sullivan Jr. as a spoiler candidate. Peltola’s campaign denies wrongdoing, and Sullivan denies any connection to it.

The key question now shifts from ballot access to potential legal exposure. Whether anyone attempted to recruit Sullivan, and whether that conduct breached Alaska law, remains unresolved. Dunleavy has said the evidence will determine whether the matter leads to charges or civil action.