Peltola Denies Role in Alaska Namesake Candidate Dispute as Justice Department Confirms Criminal Probe
Mary Peltola said she knew nothing about a second Dan Sullivan on Alaska's Senate ballot, as federal prosecutors confirmed a criminal investigation and the Justice Department asked a judge to set aside ballots ranking the namesake candidate.
Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola said she knew nothing about a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the state’s Senate ballot, as federal prosecutors confirmed on Friday that both a civil and a criminal investigation into the ballot dispute are open. The Justice Department has also asked a federal judge to order Alaska officials to set aside ballots that rank the second Sullivan.
The dispute began with a New York Times investigation published on October 28. According to the Times, text messages, interviews with 12 people and documents prepared for a possible lawsuit showed that aides to Peltola’s campaign and to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked on a “ballot composition project” to recruit a retired teacher, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., to run. The report said the aim was to draw votes away from Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent. Peltola and Daniel J. Sullivan have both denied that they coordinated with each other. Daniel J. Sullivan has said he had “zero, none, zilch” contact with Peltola’s operation and entered the race on his own.
Peltola first denied knowledge of the effort at a rally in Juneau on October 29, telling supporters: “I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.” She repeated the denial at a rally on Friday night, October 30, when a local reporter asked about the Times report. “I have no idea. I honestly have no idea,” she said. She also said she was confident she could win the race on her own and added, “I know I can win this race. I’ve known since Day 1.”
What the Justice Department asked a judge to do
On Friday, October 30, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman confirmed that “there is both a civil investigation and a criminal investigation that are ongoing,” and the Justice Department issued a new round of grand jury subpoenas and document-preservation requests for texts, emails and other records. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward asked a federal judge to order Alaska officials, before Monday, to “preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” Woodward wrote that “these modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration.”
The Justice Department had already filed a civil lawsuit on October 22 asking a federal court to block certification of “any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion” if Senator Sullivan loses by fewer votes than Daniel J. Sullivan receives. That complaint was amended on October 29 to cite the Times reporting. No charges have been filed in the criminal investigation.
One contested account sits at the center of the dispute. Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who was removed from her duties in August, told the Times that Peltola was “definitely aware” of the recruitment effort without being directly involved, according to the Times reporting summarized in coverage of the case. Rios later asked the Times to retract her statements, and the Times published them anyway, saying her account matched its other reporting. When asked on Friday about Rios, Peltola said: “Well, you know, clearly these folks are gone. They are gone for a good reason. If I could fire them again, I would be happy to fire them again.”
What the ballot shows, and what comes next
Alaska voters will see four names for the Senate seat on November 3. The incumbent appears as “Sullivan, Dan S.,” a registered Republican marked “Incumbent.” The second Sullivan appears as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” with no party designation. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, so voters rank candidates in order of preference. In the August primary, Peltola took 48 percent, Senator Sullivan took 43 percent and Daniel J. Sullivan took about 2 percent. Alaska’s Division of Elections disqualified the namesake candidate in June, finding his filing was made “with a purpose to confuse or mislead,” but a state superior court judge reversed that ruling, holding that state law imposes no “good faith” requirement on candidates, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the reinstatement.
Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered the Alaska Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the reported conduct violated state law. House Oversight Chairman James Comer has also opened a congressional inquiry and requested voluntary interviews with Rios on November 5 and with operative Jerid Kurtz on November 6. A federal judge is expected to rule on Monday on the Justice Department’s request to preserve and set aside ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan. Alaskans vote on Tuesday, November 3.
Reporting based on coverage by Meaww, Particle and Magna Bureau.
