Alaska governor orders state probe of the second Dan Sullivan on the Senate ballot

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has directed the state Department of Public Safety to investigate whether an effort to put a second Dan Sullivan on the U.S. Senate ballot broke state law, Newsweek reported.

The Republican governor acted Wednesday and said reporting by The New York Times largely supported earlier findings by the state elections division, according to Newsweek. The probe will also weigh whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted.

Who is on the ballot

The race pits Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican, against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. Also listed are Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg with no party label on the ballot, and Republican Gerald Heikes. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting.

State election officials removed Sullivan Jr. from the ballot in June, finding he filed to confuse or mislead voters, but state courts reversed that decision, Newsweek reported. He has said he entered the race on his own because he was unhappy with the incumbent.

The response

Trump said Tuesday that Peltola and the other Sullivan should be prosecuted, CBS News reported. Peltola's campaign says it did not recruit any candidates, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also denied involvement, according to Newsweek.

Separately, the Justice Department has sued over the race, and Alaska's Department of Law asked a federal judge on Oct. 26 to dismiss that case.

The polls

Source: Newsweek.