The Justice Department has sent subpoenas to Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign and the campaign of the second Dan Sullivan running in Alaska following a report that leftist operatives recruited the challenger to confuse voters and draw votes from the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
A U.S. official told NBC News that investigators had issued at least three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests. The report did not reveal exactly how many were subpoenas.
The Associated Press reported that the DOJ had issued grand jury subpoenas. ABC News reported that prosecutors are investigating whether the effort to put the second Sullivan on the ballot could violate federal conspiracy statutes.
As The Daily Wire reported earlier Thursday, Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has also ordered a state investigation into the recruitment operation, directing authorities to determine whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted.
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“If we conclude that there are things that should not have happened, that are illegal, we will act on that, and that may in fact impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate,” Dunleavy said in an interview with NewsNation when asked if he would certify the election if Peltola wins. “We are ready to do whatever we need to do to ensure that our elections are deemed credible.”
“We’re going to ensure that we aren’t going to send a scam to Washington,” he added.
Q-If [Mary Peltola] were to win, and if she’s still under investigation, would you certify the election?
Gov. Dunleavy- “If we conclude there were things…that are illegal, we will act on that. And that may in fact impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate” https://t.co/T3npq6L0xk
— Joe Khalil (@JoeKhalilTV) October 29, 2026
The subpoenas follow a New York Times investigation that traced the effort to recruit spoiler candidates to Democratic operatives working with Peltola campaign staffers and national Democrats.
The dirty-tricks campaign kicked off in the summer of 2025. A Peltola staffer was instructed to search voter records and track down as many registered voters in Alaska named “Dan Sullivan” as possible, the Times reported.
The goal apparently was to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent under Alaska’s top-four primary and ranked-choice general election system.
Jerid Kurtz of Ohio, who worked alongside Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) operatives and Peltola campaign lawyers, used aliases, burner phone numbers, and pub meetings to look for potential spoiler candidates, according to the Times.
In a secluded coastal fishing village reachable only by boat or plane, Kurtz found Dan J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher who harbored a grudge against President Donald Trump and agreed to jump into the contest. Operatives also reportedly convinced a drywall contractor to launch a long-shot campaign to further fracture the Right-wing vote. They even considered fabricating an entire third-party “MAGA” ticket.
Fired Peltola campaign manager Elisa Rios was the Times’ primary on-the-record source. She later sought to retract her statements, but the Times said her account was consistent with its other reporting, including internal texts showing national Democrats and campaign aides plotting the maneuver. The texts also showed them mocking unsuspecting voters and celebrating when the second Dan Sullivan survived a ballot challenge.
Peltola’s campaign has denied recruiting any candidates, and the DSCC has denied involvement with Dan J. Sullivan.
Peltola dismissed the report Wednesday as a distraction.
“This is all stuff to sell newspapers,” she said. “This is all stuff to get subscriptions.”
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