Alaska governor orders probe into Senate candidate recruitment

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into whether efforts to recruit candidates for the state’s U.S. Senate race, including a challenger named Dan J. Sullivan, violated state law and warrant criminal charges or civil action. The Department of Public Safety will examine the alleged recruitment effort after reporting raised questions about whether people linked to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign and Democratic operatives helped bring Dan J. Sullivan into a race against Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. The governor said an earlier review by the Alaska Division of Elections had examined similar concerns and that the evidence would determine what happens next. The recruitment account rests largely on reporting based on interviews, text messages and documents. It described campaign-linked people and Democratic operatives working to recruit Dan J. Sullivan and other potential candidates, with the aim of drawing support away from the incumbent. The extent of Peltola’s campaign’s involvement, and whether any conduct broke the law, remain unresolved. Peltola’s campaign said it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The Democratic...