Federal prosecutor confirms investigation into alleged 'bait' candidate in Alaska Senate election

A high-ranking federal prosecutor in Alaska has confirmed the existence of a criminal investigation into Democrats' alleged efforts to confuse voters by placing a 'bait' candidate with the same name as the Republican senator on the Senate ballot. The information was highlighted by Fox Business and by presenter Kayleigh McEnany on the program 'Saturday in America'.

According to the program, there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. One is the senator seeking re-election with the Republican Party. The other, identified as Dan J. Sullivan and nicknamed 'Decoy Dan' (Dan Isca), appears with the letter 'I' next to his name, which indicates an independent candidacy. In a petition filed with the court on Friday, the Department of Justice asked that the ballots bearing his name be preserved and separated.

Campaign without public policy, says the broadcaster

The presenter stated that the program's team asked the candidate's campaign four times to present their proposals, the places where they are published and the campaign events held throughout the cycle. According to her, there was no response. In evaluating the program, Democrats and analysts work to stifle the story. A lower court confirmed that the two Dan Sullivans can remain on the ballot.

The program also showed the other side's version. In a letter, the candidate refuted the Republican National Committee's accusation, stated that his candidacy is genuine, that he considered running for more than a decade and that he had no contact with any campaign agent of Mary Peltola, the senator's Democratic opponent. The presenter contrasted this text with a quote attributed to a New York Times report, according to which an interlocutor described the candidate as a resident of a tiny city, accessible only by land and sea, and willing to run if it would help the Democrat. The report also says that he did not like Donald Trump. According to the broadcaster, Peltola rejected the report.

'Serious federal problem', says president of the NRSC

A guest on the program, Senator Tim Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), said he felt 'absolutely vindicated' and stated that the group had been warning about the case for months. According to him, the objective of the 'fake Dan' is to confuse voters, and the supposed combination to recruit the candidate would constitute a crime. Scott said it was illegal to act in collusion with others to confuse the electorate.

Scott also said that the candidate's campaign material copied the senator's logo, colors and even font, and that he tried to change the initial of his middle name to mislead more voters. On Federal Election Commission forms, he said, the candidate shows no activity. With 30 subpoenas, in Scott's assessment, he 'could be in serious federal trouble.' The senator added that lying to prosecutors is a serious crime. The statements are Scott's and have not been independently verified by the transcript.

What's at stake in the Senate

In the final part of the interview, Scott addressed the race in South Carolina, where Lindsey Graham is seeking re-election. He said the party will win 'without any doubt', urged the public not to believe the polls and claimed that the national media is trying to suppress the Republican vote. He also cited Nebraska, Maine, Alaska and Ohio as states in which the party intends to remain in the majority.

The transcription does not deal with the stock market, interest, dollars or public accounts. For investors, the interest of the episode is indirect: the composition of the Senate influences the tax and spending agenda in Washington, and the case of Alaska illustrates the degree of dispute in an election that, according to the president of the Republican committee, will define the maintenance of the majority. The investigations are ongoing and no formal charges have been mentioned.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.