Description
Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola denied Thursday that she knew about an alleged effort to influence the state’s Senate race by recruiting a candidate with the same first and last name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
“I just want to clear the air,” she said at the start of a speech at a downtown bar in Juneau. “I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters.”
The Justice Department has issued new subpoenas seeking grand jury testimony or documents, along with records-preservation demands, as it steps up its criminal investigation into the matter, according to a person familiar with the case. More subpoenas were expected, but the recipients and their number were unclear.
The department has been investigating allegations that Dan J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher, entered the race to draw votes from the incumbent. The New York Times reported that Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting him.
Dan J. Sullivan has denied running at Democrats’ behest and said he had no contact with Peltola’s campaign. “Zero, none, zilch,” he said in June after announcing his candidacy.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation after the Times report, saying it revealed “disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer also said he was opening a probe into Peltola’s campaign. “Democrats are the party of fraud,” Comer told The Hill. “Knowing they can’t win on the issues, Democrats schemed to rig the U.S. Senate election in Alaska by deliberately confusing voters.”
The race is considered key to control of the U.S. Senate. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Dan J. Sullivan was eligible to run after a state elections official had found him ineligible, concluding his candidacy could confuse voters. On the ballot, the incumbent is identified as “Dan S. Sullivan,” a registered Republican and the incumbent; Dan J. Sullivan Jr. has no party affiliation listed.
Last week, the Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Senate results if votes for Dan J. Sullivan cost Sen. Dan Sullivan the election. State attorneys have asked a judge to rule on the lawsuit by Monday, warning it could “cast a cloud over Alaska’s election.”
At a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday night, Trump called the alleged effort “voter fraud at the highest level” and said Peltola and Dan J. Sullivan should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. On Thursday, Trump cast doubt on whether Peltola would be seated in the Senate if she won, saying, “It’s hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run.”
Vice President JD Vance stopped short of calling for Peltola’s prosecution Thursday but said he supported a probe into possible election fraud.
“I mean, she is a person who, for months now, has pretended that she has had nothing to do with the fact that they have put a fraudulent person, a person explicitly designed to confuse Alaska voters, on the ballot,” Vance told reporters ahead of a campaign trip to Texas. “She is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska, and it’s disgraceful.”
_______________
Stay up to date with our social media:
https://www.facebook.com/KOMONews/
https://twitter.com/komonews
http://instagram.com/komo4
https://www.tiktok.com/@komo4seattle
Download our iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/komo-news-mobile/id433508161?mt=8
Download our Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.newssynergy.komo&hl=en
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: tips@komonews.com
Call the Newsroom: 206.404.4000
KOMO News (ABC 4) provides the latest breaking news, sports, weather, traffic, and local event coverage in the Seattle and Western Washington/Puget Sound area, including Bellevue, Redmond, Renton, Kent, Tacoma, Bellingham, Yakima, and surrounding communities.
This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information, contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com
#komo #komonews #komo4 #komo4news #seattle #seattlenews #washingtonnews