Alaska Senate Race Faces Criminal Probe as Justice Department Issues New Subpoenas

The Justice Department has expanded its criminal investigation into the Alaska Senate race by issuing new grand jury subpoenas, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move marks a sharp escalation in a dispute centered on whether the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola recruited a challenger named Dan J. Sullivan Jr. to split votes from the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan.

The investigation began months ago as officials examined allegations that the name-sharing candidate was entered into the race to confuse voters. On Thursday, a source briefed on the probe confirmed that subpoenas for testimony, documents, and records preservation demands were sent out. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said more subpoenas were expected later that day. The number of recipients and their identities were not immediately clear.

The legal friction in the race dates back to early in the year. A top state elections official initially ruled Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg, ineligible for the primary ballot. That official determined his candidacy was filed with the purpose to mislead and compromise the fairness of the election. The case advanced to the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the retired teacher was qualified to run. Voters in the general election will see the incumbent listed as a registered Republican while the challenger appears without a party affiliation.

The New York Times reported that internal interviews, text messages, and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit indicated Peltola's team aimed to coax candidates into the race. The goal, according to the report, was to divide support for the GOP senator. Peltola, a former congresswoman, has dismissed the reporting as a distraction from key issues, including the incumbent's support for the war in Iran.

“This is just another distraction. It’s another diversion,” Peltola said in a video posted online. “This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions.” Her campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the state governor's separate investigation.

Political leaders have weighed in heavily on the dispute. President Donald Trump called for the criminal prosecution of Peltola and her campaign. He suggested that if Peltola won, her seating in the Senate would be difficult. “It’s hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run,” Trump told reporters while traveling to a rally in South Carolina. He later stated that he felt Peltola should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.

Attorney General Todd Blanche accused Democrats of cheating during a Fox News interview on Wednesday. “They are trying to take votes away from the incumbent, not by running an election, not by running on issues but by putting up a person with the same name,” Blanche said. Vice President JD Vance supported the probe, stating that Peltola had pretended for months that she had no connection to the candidate explicitly designed to confuse voters.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered a state-level investigation into Peltola. He said the newspaper's reporting revealed disturbing evidence of an organized effort to manipulate elections. Dan J. Sullivan has long denied running at the behest of Democrats. “Zero, none, zilch,” he said in June after announcing his run regarding contact with Peltola's campaign.