Yesterday, we said the Justice Department could set things in motion to split the Democrat operation in Alaska’s Senate race. They looked for ‘Dan Sullivans’ to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, clearing a better path for Democrat Mary Peltola to secure a win. The Decoy Dan hasn’t campaigned at all; he insists he did so of his own volition, but that claim collapsed once we learned that Democrat operatives handled all his paperwork.
Nice of @nytimes to finally do some real journalism and report this blatant election meddling ONE WEEK before the midterms. Where were they MONTHS ago when Townhall broke the news that Mary Peltola's campaign was trying to trick Alaskans into voting for the WRONG Dan Sullivan? https://t.co/o0TF3GTy0p
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 28, 2026
Democrats and the media are now trying to navigate this weird road of saying ‘it’s not illegal, but it looks pretty bad.’ Meanwhile, the DOJ is doing its part to get to the bottom of this circus. At least 30 subpoenas were issued Thursday (via CBS News):
BREAKING: DOJ has issued 30+ subpoenas in the last 24 hours as part of criminal investigation into how Dan J. Sullivan appeared on the Alaska ballot and what potential coordination there was w/ the Peltola campaign, DOJ sources tell colleague @davidspunt
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 29, 2026
Justice Department’s Dan Sullivan criminal probe accelerates after Alaska campaign revelations per CNN More than 40 grand jury subpoenas have been issued https://t.co/Wzqgt6Nhj2
— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) October 29, 2026
BREAKING: The New York Post is reporting that the DOJ under Todd Blanche is sending out grand jury subpoenas and pursuing a theory that Peltola's campaign and Senior Democrats conspired against the rights of Alaska voters in violation of 18 USC 241 https://t.co/y5aQLJdC24
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) October 29, 2026
The Justice Department has begun issuing a new wave of subpoenas stemming from an ongoing criminal investigation into Alaska's Senate race, including the alleged efforts by Democrats to recruit a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News.
The subpoenas are targeting several Democratic officials believed to be tied to the effort to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan to appear on Alaska's ballot. Nobody involved in the race has been charged with a crime.
The department also amended its civil lawsuit seeking to block certification of the results if Sullivan loses due to "voter confusion," adding in details from a New York Times report on alleged efforts by people associated with Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign to find candidates who could draw votes away from Sullivan. The new filing calls the situation a "conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the electoral process."
Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied any connection to the effort to put Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot. Daniel S. Sullivan has said in the past he is genuinely interested in running.
During a briefing with reporters Thursday, a Justice Department official offered perspective into the department's investigative approach in its criminal probe, saying there had been a "significant increase in activity" surrounding the Alaska race over the previous 24 hours. The Times report the report on Wednesday.
A local Alaska reporter just revealed that Dan J. Sullivan didn't do any campaign events. Wut. How in the world did local press not chase this guy down and confront him about any of this?!?
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) October 29, 2026
Gov. Mike Dunleavy was also blunt about Peltola’s alleged involvement in the scheme, where she seems aware of it, though the line is that she wasn’t involved. Well, that died quickly:
At a rally in Soldotna today, US Senate candidate Mary Peltola said the media’s focus should be on Alaska’s high cost of living and Sen. Sullivan’s support of the war in Iran — not who is on the ballot. “Nobody at the New York Times cares about affordability in Alaska.” https://t.co/Ptg9kEOAtH
— Matt Tunseth (@MattTunseth) October 28, 2026
Dunleavy added that if Peltola gets indicted, well, that’s life.
Alaska Gov DUNLEAVY tells FOX if the investigation leads to criminal charges for Mary PELTOLA "so be it."
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) October 29, 2026
This investigation won't end after Election Day; the DOJ is prepared to look into this for as long as necessary.