Alaska governor orders probe into Democratic campaign after candidate recruitment claims

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into an alleged scheme designed to manipulate state elections, BBC News reported on October 29. The Republican governor said he was acting following a New York Times report that the team of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola worked with individuals who tried to recruit a man named Dan Sullivan to run in the Senate race. [1][4]

The incumbent Republican senator in the race is also named Dan Sullivan. According to BBC News, Senator Sullivan and other Republicans accused Democrats of trying to confuse voters, while campaign staff for Peltola denied any wrongdoing. As FTMQ News reported earlier, claims were previously raised that an independent candidate sharing the senator's name was part of a Democratic effort to stack the ballot. [1][11][12]

President Donald Trump has called for Peltola to be prosecuted and removed or barred from the ballot over the dispute, according to reports from AP News, the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, and Anadolu Ajansi. As FTMQ News reported earlier, the Department of Justice has sought expedited discovery in an Alaska Senate lawsuit following the publication of the New York Times report. [1][2][3][5][7][12]