US midterms 2026: House Republicans launch probe into alleged plot involving Dan Sullivan namesake in Alaska Senate race

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) launched an investigation on Thursday into allegations that former Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola’s campaign attempted to recruit a candidate with the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan to divide the GOP vote in the state’s Senate race. The investigation follows a report by The New York Times alleging that Peltola’s campaign worked with national Democrats to recruit a Dan Sullivan namesake to run for the Senate.

The reported strategy would potentially confuse voters and weaken support for the Republican incumbent. Peltola’s campaign and national Democratic officials have denied involvement in the alleged effort. Comer criticised the reported strategy, accusing Democrats of attempting to manipulate the election rather than compete on policy issues.

“Democrats are the party of fraud. Knowing they can’t win on the issues, Democrats schemed to rig the US Senate election in Alaska by deliberately confusing voters. This is part of a broader pattern of misconduct by today’s Democrat Party.” “Americans deserve answers about this latest attempt by Democrats to defraud the American people, and we will get them,” Comer added.

As part of the inquiry, Comer sent letters to Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, and Jerid Kurtz, a Democratic operative whom The New York Times reported was also involved in the alleged operation. The committee requested in-person, transcribed interviews with both individuals. Comer asked Rios to testify on November 5 and Kurtz to appear on November 6.

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Trump calls for Peltola to be barred from running

President Donald Trump weighed in on the controversy Wednesday, arguing that Peltola should not be permitted to run following the newspaper’s report. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “The Democrats cheated! They found a man named Dan Sullivan, put him on the Ballot, then lied to the Court, and said they didn’t know anything about it. That’s perjury. She shouldn’t be allowed to run, and neither should the FAKE Dan Sullivan!”