DOJ Expands Alaska Senate Election Probe

The Justice Department on Oct. 29, 2026, issued new grand jury subpoenas and records preservation demands in a months-long probe of allegations that people linked to Mary Peltola recruited Dan J. Sullivan Jr. to confuse Alaska Senate voters against incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Recipients were not disclosed. The step followed a New York Times report. Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Dan J. Sullivan Jr. ballot-qualified after a state official found him ineligible. Peltola called the report a distraction to sell newspapers. Dan J. Sullivan Jr. denied campaign contact: "Zero, none, zilch." Todd Blanche said they are trying to take votes by putting up a person with the same name. Donald Trump said it is hard to believe she could be allowed to run and she should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. JD Vance said she pretended she had nothing to do with a person designed to confuse voters and is trying to steal a Senate seat. Dunleavy said the reporting reveals an organized effort to manipulate elections. Separately, DOJ is probing alleged noncitizen registration in California; a judge on Oct. 28 rejected segregating ballots for up to 20,000 alleged noncitizens, calling it attempted election interference. Subpoena outcomes remain unresolved.