Alaska Senate race: state and federal investigations into a 'spoiler' candidate days before the vote

Who's saying what

• Mary Peltola, Democratic candidate

  "I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent," she said in Juneau on 29 October, calling the report "just another distraction". Her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee denied recruiting candidates. After the ruling Peltola said: "I am not interested in tricking voters."¹²³⁴

• President Trump and Republican officials

  Trump called for Peltola and the namesake candidate to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, calling it "Voter Fraud at the Highest Level". Vice President JD Vance backed an investigation. Gov. Dunleavy said the Times reporting "substantially supports" earlier findings by the state elections board.¹³

• U.S. Attorney for Alaska

  Michael Heyman called the situation "deeply troubling" and said his office was acting "intensely and swiftly". He said no specific crime had yet been determined.²

• The New York Times's reporting

  A former senior Peltola campaign staffer told the Times that Peltola was aware of the effort but not directly involved; the staffer later sought to withdraw those statements, and the Times said other evidence supported its reporting.²³

• Judge Sharon Gleason and Alaska's lawyers

  The judge called the relief sought "infeasible" because many people had already voted, wrote that "the United States provides no workable plan" for separating ballots while keeping them secret, and said the request would intrude on Alaska's right to run its elections. The Alaska Department of Law had called the suit "meritless".⁴⁵

• Justice Department

  A spokesperson said "Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes." The department says the case was dismissed on procedural grounds and is appealing to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.⁴⁵

What's next

Alaska voted on 3 November and the race is uncalled: on Wednesday night Peltola led Sen. Sullivan by 637 votes with nearly a quarter of the votes uncounted, and ranked-choice results are not due until 18 November. Sen. Sullivan has said he will accept the result; Gov. Dunleavy has suggested he may not certify a Peltola win. The Justice Department's appeal goes to the 9th Circuit, and the criminal inquiry continues: ABC reports new grand jury subpoenas and FBI contacts with the namesake candidate's donors.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

The full story

The dispute centres on Alaska's Senate race between Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, which could help decide control of the U.S. Senate. A New York Times investigation published on 28 October reported that her campaign and national Democratic aides helped bring other candidates into the race, including one with almost the same name as the senator. In the primary, Peltola received 48%, Sen. Sullivan 43% and the namesake candidate 2%. Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation, the U.S. attorney in Alaska confirmed a federal criminal inquiry, and President Trump called for prosecutions. Peltola denies any knowledge. Separately, the Justice Department sued to stop Alaska certifying the result if Sen. Sullivan lost; a federal judge dismissed that suit on 1 November and the department is appealing.

checked Nov 2, 2026