US Department of Justice expands its probe into Alaska’s US Senate election

The Trump administration is doubling down on allegations that Democrats stood up a ‘spoiler’ candidate against Republicans.

Republican US Senator Dan Sullivan and Democratic US Senate candidate Mary Peltola participate in a debate in Anchorage, Alaska, the US, October 15, 2026 [File: Kerry Tasker/Reuters]

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has stepped up its investigation into a US Senate race in the state of Alaska, where it says the Democratic Party put up a sham candidate to confuse voters so the Republican candidate would lose.

Federal prosecutors sent so-called “target” letters to a number of people on Tuesday, including attorney Marc Elias, who has represented the Democratic Party, warning them that it has gathered enough evidence linking them to a possible crime that it regards them as possible defendants in a future indictment.

list 1 of 3 Alaska’s two ‘Dan Sullivans’: How common is ballot stacking, does it work?

list 2 of 3 Sullivan vows to honour Alaska race outcome, US judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit

list 3 of 3 Alaska Senate candidates trade accusations ahead of election

In a statement on Tuesday, Elias said, “No one should be surprised that President Trump’s Department of Justice is targeting me and my law firm on Election Day.”

“We will not be intimidated by a sham investigation,” the statement continued. “We are going to keep working around the clock to support our clients and make sure President Trump and his party enjoy a well-deserved beating at the ballot box.”

Incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is facing a midterm elections challenge from a former Democratic congresswoman, Mary Peltola, for a seat that could prove pivotal in determining which party controls the Senate.

One of the candidates in the race is also named Dan Sullivan, and Trump and officials in his administration have said the Democratic Party deliberately put the newcomer Sullivan up to running for office, to confuse voters on Election Day. Democrats have denied the accusations, and say that the ballots being used on Tuesday clearly mark each Sullivan separately.

But the Department of Justice, which unsuccessfully attempted to have a court block the certification of the election in the state if the incumbent Sullivan loses, has gone ahead with a sweeping investigation anyway.

The AP reported that more than 100 subpoenas had been sent out so far as part of the investigation, according to an unnamed person briefed on the probe.

特朗普政府加倍指责民主党人扶植了一位“搅局者”候选人来对抗共和党人。

2026年10月15日，美国共和党参议员丹·沙利文和民主党参议员候选人玛丽·佩尔托拉在美国阿拉斯加州安克雷奇参加辩论。[图片：Kerry Tasker/路透社]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的政府加大了对阿拉斯加州美国参议院选举的调查力度。政府称，民主党在该州推出了一名虚假候选人，目的是迷惑选民，使共和党候选人落败。

周二，联邦检察官向包括代表民主党的律师马克·埃利亚斯在内的许多人发出所谓的“目标”信函，警告他们，联邦检察官已收集到足够的证据，将他们与可能的犯罪联系起来，因此认为他们可能是未来起诉书中的被告。

阿拉斯加两位“丹·沙利文”名单（共 3 人）：选票堆砌有多普遍？它真的有效吗？

（共3条） 苏利文誓言尊重阿拉斯加赛马比赛结果，美国法官驳回司法部诉讼

阿拉斯加州参议院三位候选人在选举前互相指责

埃利亚斯周二在一份声明中表示：“特朗普总统的司法部在选举日针对我和我的律师事务所，这并不令人意外。”

声明继续说道：“我们不会被虚假调查吓倒。我们将继续夜以继日地工作，支持我们的客户，确保特朗普总统及其政党在选举中遭受应有的惨败。”

现任共和党参议员丹·沙利文正面临来自前民主党国会议员玛丽·佩尔托拉的中期选举挑战，该席位可能对决定哪个党派控制参议院起着至关重要的作用。

此次竞选的候选人之一也叫丹·沙利文，特朗普及其政府官员声称，民主党故意让这位新人沙利文参选，目的是在选举日混淆选民。民主党否认了这些指控，并表示周二使用的选票上清楚地分别标记了每位沙利文的名字。

但司法部曾试图通过法院阻止该州选举结果的认证（如果现任议员沙利文败选），但未能成功，目前已着手进行全面调查。

据美联社报道，一位了解调查情况的匿名人士透露，作为调查的一部分，目前已发出 100 多份传票。