Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola has again rejected allegations linking her campaign to an alleged scheme involving the recruitment of a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan.
Speaking at a rally on Friday, Peltola described the accusations as offensive and insisted that she had no involvement in efforts to influence another candidate’s participation in the race. However, she did not address the ongoing investigations into the allegations.
“I am so deeply offended by these accusations about having any involvement with anyone else’s candidacy,” Peltola said during her speech at the rally. “Of course, I want fewer candidates in the primary. I’m not out soliciting more competition.”
She maintained that her campaign did not need assistance from any other candidate to secure victory, saying its support came from voters across Alaska.
“I do not need any help winning this race except by all of you in this room and the massive amounts of support we have across the state,” she added.
The controversy has drawn attention to the closely watched Alaska Senate contest, particularly after the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the certification of the election. The department argued that the presence of another candidate bearing the name Dan J. Sullivan could create an unfair advantage for Peltola.
The allegations gained momentum following a report by The New York Times, which claimed that Peltola’s campaign was directly involved in recruiting a man named Dan J. Sullivan to enter the race in a move intended to split votes. Several Republican lawmakers criticised Peltola on social media after the report was published.
Peltola had previously denied knowing about or participating in the alleged arrangement.
In its latest court filing on Thursday, the Justice Department accused Peltola of misleading a federal court. The amended complaint alleged that her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee “orchestrated this sham campaign for the purpose of misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected.”
The department also referred to the New York Times report, stating that “although what the New York Times reports is not always true, its reporting here aligns with what the United States has been alleging on information and belief.”
As part of the investigation, the DOJ issued dozens of subpoenas to Peltola’s Senate campaign offices and the offices of Dan J. Sullivan.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also ordered an investigation into whether Peltola’s campaign breached state law through the alleged scheme. Meanwhile, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee opened a separate investigation into the campaign.
US President Donald Trump has also accused Peltola of election fraud and called for her removal from the ballot.
Although she did not directly address the investigations during Friday’s rally, Peltola dismissed the allegations as “hollow” and criticised what she described as smear campaigns.
“Our work isn’t done yet because we know that there are people out there who have not voted, who don’t have a plan to vote, who are who are so turned off by the smear campaigns and the garbage,” she said.
However, Scott Kendall, an Alaska lawyer and former Republican operative, told The Hill that recruiting Dan J. Sullivan, even if Peltola’s campaign was involved, would not necessarily constitute an offence under state law.
“It can be a nasty, dirty trick,” he said. “There can be bad motives behind it, but according to our Alaska Supreme Court, which is empowered to interpret Alaska law, it is not illegal.”
