00:02Remember that strange Senate race in Alaska where two guys named Dan Sullivan are in the ballot?
00:07Well, we're learning a lot more about how that happened.
00:11The New York Times reports aides to Democrat Mary Peltola worked behind the scenes with
00:15national Democratic operatives to recruit candidates who could take away votes from
00:20Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. And yes, that included looking for other people with his exact
00:25name. One of them, a retired teacher, ended up on the ballot. The Times says it reviewed text
00:31messages and other documents and spoke with people involved in the effort. Now, the report
00:36doesn't establish that Peltola herself was directly involved. Her former campaign manager
00:41claimed Peltola knew about the operation, but later contacted the Times asking to retract her
00:46statements. Peltola's campaign denies any involvement, saying it didn't recruit candidates
00:51or work with either Sullivan campaign. The National Democratic Senate Campaign Committee
00:56also denies involvement. After the report, Peltola told reporters, quote, this is just another
01:01distraction. Every day it's some new, you know, look over here moment. This is all stuff to sell
01:07newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions. Nobody at the New York Times cares about affordability
01:13in Alaska. Republicans have tried to get the other Sullivan removed from the ballot, but Alaska's
01:18Supreme Court rejected that effort in June. Now, Alaska's Republican governor is ordering
01:23a state investigation. Mike Dunleavy says state police will look into whether the recruitment
01:28effort broke Alaska law and whether criminal charges or civil penalties are warranted. The
01:34Justice Department has also sued Alaska, seeking to block certification of the Senate results if
01:39the second Sullivan cost the incumbent the election. President Trump accused Democrats of fraud
01:44and perjury and told reporters Peltola should drop out of the race. They said they didn't do it and
01:49we caught him cold and Mary Peltola should resign from the race. I think she should be prosecuted
01:57criminally for what she did. Remember, Alaska uses ranked choice voting so voters can rank both
02:02Sullivan's. The incumbent is also the only one identified as a Republican on the ballot.
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