Murkowski calls on her ‘friend’ Peltola to talk about ‘disturbing’ allegations of voter manipulation

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Thursday morning, in a very not Alaskan way, everyone in the state seemed to be talking about the New York Times, and its shocking report that operatives aligned with Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from Sen. Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent.

“The New York Times just released an incredible story on it. They created a fake candidate,” Trump said in remarks aired by CNN.

By Thursday afternoon, the Alaska Department of Public Safety had put out an email saying at the request of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, it has started an investigation “into the alleged conduct outlined in a recent New York Times article.”

“The Alaska State Troopers are committed to the fair and impartial enforcement of Alaska’s criminal laws, including those that protect the integrity of our elections. We will work closely with our partners at the Alaska Department of Law to ensure that the facts are thoroughly examined and that anyone found to have violated state law is held accountable,” the statement reads.

Wednesday afternoon, in Fairbanks, Sen. Lisa Murkowski talked with Alaska’s News Source about the allegations as well. She has previously endorsed Peltola in her re-election campaign for the U.S. House, which she lost to Nick Begich.

“We should be a state, and a place, where we respect not only our election laws, but we know better than to engage in manipulative ballot stacking,” Murkowski said. “So it’s something that is hard to call out your friend, and her campaign, but I think Alaskans need to hear from Mary about the full background of what has recently been learned. It’s disturbing, and my hope is we will have some honest answers.”

Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a statement Wednesday night on his X page, calling the allegations “disturbing” and calling on his Department of Public Safety to investigate it further.

“Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support. Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections,” Dunleavy wrote.

An email to a Peltola campaign spokesperson on Thursday has not been returned.

But Wednesday evening they sent a statement:

“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The Republican party has been caught multiple times propping up third party ‘spoiler’ candidates in Alaska,” the campaign said in a statement to Alaska’s News Source.

Alaska’s News Source went to Homer Tuesday evening to interview Peltola after a lawsuit filed by President Trump’s Justice Department to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska.

The lawsuit asks the state to refrain from “certifying any result that may be impacted by voter confusion,” citing a claim that the Petersburg man entered the race to confuse voters and steal votes to help Peltola win.

It comes after months of back-and-forth between current Sen. Sullivan, who is fighting for a third term, and another candidate from Petersburg on the same ballot named Dan J. Sullivan.

The request for an interview wasn’t granted, but a photographer caught up with her in the parking lot.

“I have every confidence that Alaskan voters know what they’re doing, and I believe in the rule of law and free and fair elections,” Peltola said. “I have all the faith that this is going to get sorted out in the right way.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.