Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) asked Alaskan authorities to look into reports that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign hired her midterm opponent, Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., to undermine incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
Speaking on CNN on Thursday, Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said, "Republicans and Donald Trump should certainly not be lecturing anybody on a fair election process. I think the state of Alaska should do its job." He added that any accusations should be investigated at the state level.
The call follows a New York Times story published Wednesday that said Peltola aides and outside Democrats recruited another Dan Sullivan to dilute the GOP vote. Peltola, a former House lawmaker, denied the claims.
Garcia also noted that Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the committee chair, still has "a couple more months" in office and can schedule hearings as he wishes.
Comer opened a probe on Thursday, setting hearings for Nov. 5 and 6, and has summoned Elisa Rios, Peltola's former campaign manager, and Jerid Kurtz, a Democratic operative the Times linked to the effort.
Garcia said, "It appears that whoever was involved in this was fired by the Peltola campaign over the summer. I think the state of Alaska should take any lead in investigations." He added he did not expect the issue to dominate election day, noting voters know both Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola.
The "ballot stacking" alleged against Peltola is not illegal, according to GOP strategists cited by The Hill, and is a common tactic in Alaska's nonpartisan top-four voting system.
President Donald Trump, however, posted on Truth Social that Peltola should be barred from the Senate race and called for prosecution, accusing Democrats of perjury and labeling the recruited candidate a "FAKE Dan Sullivan."
