Alaska governor orders investigation into Peltola campaign after bombshell report

On the campaign trail

Eyes on Alaska : The governor ordered an investigation into whether criminal charges or civil penalties should be brought over alleged Democratic efforts to confuse voters by recruiting a Senate candidate with the same name as GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan. President Donald Trump had called for Democrat Mary Peltola to drop out of the race and face criminal charges.

Dueling rallies: Former President Barack Obama took shots at Trump at a rally in Georgia. In Ohio, Trump downplayed the impact of Obama’s campaigning. Both revived their spat over Obama’s comparison of Trump’s White House renovation decor to a Cheesecake Factory.

Early voting data : CNN analyzed early voting data in 25 states, finding that Democrats have a 14-point advantage in turnout among high-propensity voters (those who participated in the last two general elections). There’s still time for Republicans: a large share of high-propensity Republican voters has yet to cast their ballots.

How Trump is priming supporters to doubt the midterm results

President Donald Trump says the polls are rigged, and some of his supporters believe him. Harry Enten tells Donie O’Sullivan why they’re wrong.

Trump says the polls are rigged, and some of his supporters believe him. CNN’s Harry Enten explains to Donie O’Sullivan why they’re wrong.

What early voting data says about high- and low-propensity voters

CNN analyzed early voting data in 25 states that are reporting both counts of early votes cast and where voters register with a party, using data from Catalist, and found a Democratic advantage in turnout among both low- and high-propensity voters.

Across the 25 states, Democrats have a 14-point advantage in turnout among high propensity voters (those who participated in the last two general elections). This lead is up to 18 points among voters who cast a ballot in just one of the two elections and also among those who turned out in neither.

At the same point in 2024, Democrats had a 6-point lead among voters who turned out in both the 2020 and 2022 elections and a 1-point lead among voters who stayed home for both prior elections.

These patterns are particularly stark in places like Kansas and North Carolina.

Among voters who turned out in 2022 and 2024, registered Democrats lead registered Republicans by 2 points in Kansas. This balloons to 14 points among voters who turned out in just one of those elections and 26 points among voters who turned out in neither. In North Carolina, the Democratic advantage is 14 points among the highest propensity voters and 25 points among the lowest.

While the highest propensity voters cast most of the ballots, lower propensity voters are still a meaningful share of the electorate and could be a decisive group in tight contests. Across the 25 states analyzed, about 6% of ballots have been cast by voters who did not turn out in either of the past two general elections and another 15% came from voters who participated in just one.

There’s still time for Republicans. A large share of high-propensity Republican voters has yet to cast their ballots. But not all of those voters will necessarily turn out, and the data so far suggest Republicans will need to be more reliant on strong election day turnout than they were in 2024.

Alaska governor orders investigation into Peltola campaign

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Alaska’s governor on Wednesday night announced he was ordering an investigation into whether criminal charges or civil penalties should be brought over alleged Democratic efforts to confuse voters by recruiting a Senate candidate with the same name as GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan.

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy made the announcement following a bombshell report from the New York Times about Democrats aligned with candidate Mary Peltola, noting on X the Alaska Division of Elections investigated such concerns in June.

CNN has reached out to Peltola’s campaign for comment, as well as the Alaska Division of Elections and the state’s Department of Public Safety for more information.

“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. Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable,” he said.

Peltola, the state’s former at-large House member, is considered one of Senate Democrats’ top recruits of the midterms and her campaign continues to deny any involvement in the campaign of Daniel J. Sullivan.

Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump seized on the explosive report , calling it “Voter Fraud at the Highest Level,” and urged Peltola be “removed from the ballot and prosecuted.”

Alaska election officials told CNN on Wednesday that there’s no role for the Trump administration in deciding who gets to run in the state’s election.

The latest from the campaign trail in the final sprint to Election Day

Win McNamee/Getty Images/File

We’re in the last stretch before Election Day as candidates across the country squeeze in as many campaign stops as possible to make their final pitch.

President Donald Trump is returning to South Carolina to champion Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who is effectively in a tie with her Democratic opponent Annie Andrews.

Trump has been traveling near daily in October, mostly to states he won in the 2024 election, as he aims to boost Republican turnout.

Vice President JD Vance again heads to Texas , where Democrats are hoping to snap a 32-year statewide losing streak in the Senate and governor’s races.

Both parties are bringing out their biggest names in the final week before midterms, with former President Barack Obama rallying in Georgia last night.

Today in Georgia, former Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, will be campaigning to mobilize voters in support of Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

在竞选活动中

阿拉斯加局势聚焦：州长下令调查民主党涉嫌通过招募与共和党现任参议员丹·沙利文同名的候选人来混淆选民视听的行为，以确定是否应提起刑事诉讼或处以民事处罚。此前，唐纳德·特朗普总统曾呼吁民主党候选人玛丽·佩尔托拉退出竞选并接受刑事指控。

针锋相对的竞选集会：前总统奥巴马在佐治亚州的一次集会上抨击了特朗普。而在俄亥俄州，特朗普则淡化了奥巴马竞选活动的影响。两人再次就奥巴马将特朗普白宫的装修风格比作芝士蛋糕工厂（Cheesecake Factory）一事展开争论。

提前投票数据：CNN分析了25个州的提前投票数据，发现民主党在积极投票选民（即参加过前两届大选的选民）的投票率上领先共和党14个百分点。共和党仍有机会：相当一部分积极投票的共和党选民尚未投票。

特朗普如何引导支持者质疑中期选举结果

唐纳德·特朗普总统声称民调被操纵，他的一些支持者也相信他。哈里·恩滕向多尼·奥沙利文解释了他们错在哪里。

特朗普声称民调被操纵，他的一些支持者也相信他。CNN的哈里·恩滕向唐尼·奥沙利文解释了他们错在哪里。

提前投票数据揭示了高投票意愿选民和低投票意愿选民的哪些特征。

CNN 分析了 25 个州的提前投票数据，这些州同时报告了提前投票的票数和选民的党派登记情况（数据来自 Catalist），结果发现，无论是在投票意愿较低的选民还是投票意愿较高的选民中，民主党的投票率都更高。

在25个州中，民主党在积极投票选民（即参加了过去两届大选的选民）的投票率上领先14个百分点。而在只参加过一次大选的选民以及两次大选均未投票的选民中，这一领先优势扩大到18个百分点。

2024 年的同一时间点，在 2020 年和 2022 年选举中都参与投票的选民中，民主党领先 6 个百分点；而在前两次选举中都没有投票的选民中，民主党领先 1 个百分点。

这些模式在堪萨斯州和北卡罗来纳州等地尤为明显。

在堪萨斯州，2022年和2024年都参与投票的选民中，注册民主党人领先注册共和党人2个百分点。在只参加过其中一次选举的选民中，这一差距扩大到14个百分点；而在两次选举均未参与投票的选民中，这一差距则高达26个百分点。在北卡罗来纳州，民主党在投票意愿最高的选民中领先14个百分点，而在投票意愿最低的选民中则领先25个百分点。

虽然投票意愿最高的选民投出了大部分选票，但投票意愿较低的选民仍然占选民总数的相当一部分，并且在选情胶着的选举中可能起到决定性作用。在所分析的25个州中，约有6%的选票来自过去两届大选中均未投票的选民，另有15%的选票来自只参加过一次大选的选民。

共和党人还有时间。很大一部分高意向的共和党选民尚未投票。但并非所有这些选民都会出来投票，而且目前的数据表明，共和党人这次需要比2024年更依赖选举日的高投票率。

阿拉斯加州长下令调查佩尔托拉竞选活动

凯文·拉马克/路透社

阿拉斯加州长周三晚宣布，他已下令调查是否应就民主党涉嫌招募一名与共和党现任参议员丹·沙利文同名的参议员候选人以迷惑选民的行为提起刑事诉讼或民事处罚。

共和党州长迈克·邓利维在《纽约时报》发表了一篇关于民主党候选人玛丽·佩尔托拉的重磅报道后宣布了这一消息，并指出阿拉斯加州选举部门在6月份调查了此类担忧。

CNN已联系佩尔托拉竞选团队征求意见，并联系阿拉斯加州选举部门和该州公共安全部门以获取更多信息。

“阿拉斯加选民有权投票给他们真正想支持的候选人。故意欺骗选民将选票投给其他人，损害了我们选举的公正性。任何被发现违法的人或组织都必须被追究责任，”他说。

佩尔托拉是该州前任众议院议员，被认为是参议院民主党在中期选举中重点招募的候选人之一，她的竞选团队一直否认参与丹尼尔·J·沙利文的竞选活动。

周三早些时候，唐纳德·特朗普总统抓住这份爆炸性报道，称其为“最高级别的选民欺诈”，并敦促将佩尔托拉“从选票中移除并予以起诉”。

阿拉斯加州选举官员周三告诉 CNN，特朗普政府在决定谁能参加该州选举方面没有任何作用。

距离选举日仅剩最后冲刺阶段，竞选活动的最新进展

Win McNamee/Getty Images/文件

距离选举日已进入最后冲刺阶段，全国各地的候选人都在尽可能多地安排竞选活动，进行最后的拉票。

唐纳德·特朗普总统将重返南卡罗来纳州，为共和党参议员达琳·格雷厄姆助选。格雷厄姆目前与民主党对手安妮·安德鲁斯的支持率不相上下。

10 月份，特朗普几乎每天都在奔波，主要前往他在 2024 年大选中赢得的州，目的是提高共和党的投票率。

副总统 JD Vance 再次前往德克萨斯州，民主党人希望结束该州在参议院和州长选举中长达 32 年的连败纪录。

中期选举前的最后一周，两党都派出了最重量级的人物，前总统巴拉克·奥巴马昨晚在佐治亚州举行了竞选集会。

与此同时，今天在佐治亚州，前副总统卡马拉·哈里斯将开展竞选活动，动员选民支持民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫。