A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Democrats in Alaska face questions about how far they went to win a U.S. Senate race.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Reporting by our friends at The New York Times alleged that Democrats were involved in recruiting a spoiler candidate to go on the ballot. Democrat Mary Peltola is running to unseat Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in a ranked-choice election.
MARTÍNEZ: Liz Ruskin with Alaska Public Media has been following all of this, and she joins us now from Anchorage. Liz, let's start with the allegations in The New York Times. What are those allegations?
LIZ RUSKIN, BYLINE: Well, NPR has not verified the reporting by the Times, but it concerns a third candidate in the race - a retired teacher named Dan Sullivan, same first and last name as the senator. When he filed to run back in May, Republicans called it a dirty trick. They said he wanted to confuse voters into selecting the wrong Sullivan. Peltola and national Democratic groups denied they had anything to do with this candidate.
And then the Times report comes out saying there was an elaborate recruitment scheme to get another Dan Sullivan on the ballot. The Times quotes a fired Peltola campaign manager alleging Peltola was aware of the recruitment, and the Times says the former aide had texts to back up her claim that Peltola's team was involved in it.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow. All right, so how are Republicans responding to all this?
RUSKIN: President Trump says Peltola should be charged with a crime. He's got the Justice Department suing to block certification of the election if Senator Sullivan narrowly loses. Large excerpts from the Times story are now part of the lawsuit. Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a motion in that case last night, saying that only Daniel J. Sullivan knows why he decided to run and that the DOJ is trying to interfere in the election. Meanwhile, Governor Mike Dunleavy has asked the state to investigate if laws were broken.
MARTÍNEZ: What about Peltola? What has she said at all about this?
RUSKIN: Well, last night she gave a speech at a bar in Juneau, Alaska's capital.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARY PELTOLA: I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So are there any laws that would apply here?
RUSKIN: I've been talking to attorneys with expertise in election law, and they haven't been able to name any. Scott Kendall, for one, says the conduct described in the Times story crosses moral and ethical lines.
SCOTT KENDALL: When I look at those facts, I'm like, it's dirty, nasty business, but it's not illegal.
RUSKIN: He says a candidate's motives for running do not matter under Alaska law.
MARTÍNEZ: What have voters had to say about this?
RUSKIN: I have heard from a lot of Peltola supporters who say they're really disheartened by The New York Times report but still voting for her. Here's nonpartisan voter Adam Lees (ph) from Anchorage.
ADAM LEES: It's obviously, like, not the best look. It does give - I think some of the kids would describe it - icky vibes. But at the same time, I think voters are intelligent and can figure out which Dan Sullivan is their person.
RUSKIN: And on the ballot, the two Sullivans are listed differently. One is Dan S., Republican incumbent, and the other is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Alaska Public Media's Liz Ruskin in Anchorage. Liz, thanks a lot.
RUSKIN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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