Trump claims 'voter fraud' in election race where two candidates share same name

Federal authorities are carrying out a criminal investigation into a candidate in this Tuesday's US senate election who shares his name with the Republican incumbent amid claims by Donald Trump of "voter fraud".

The president's administration has alleged that retired teacher Dan J Sullivan was recruited to run in the Alaska contest in an effort to cause confusion and take votes away from current senator Dan S Sullivan.

The administration is claiming that Democratic senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign was involved in the alleged scheme. She denies the claims.

As part of the US midterms, Alaska's contest is widely seen as one of the senate races that could sway control of the upper chamber, currently held 53-47 by the Republicans.

At a rally on Friday night, Ms Peltola, a former congresswoman, told supporters she was "so deeply offended by these accusations about having any involvement with anyone else's candidacy".

"I want fewer candidates in the primary. I'm not out soliciting more competition," Ms Peltola said, adding she did "not need any help" defeating Senator Dan S Sullivan.

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FBI agents have been contacting donors to Dan J Sullivan in two remote communities in Alaska and a couple in Massachusetts, asking about potential deception.

Charles Flint contributed $500 over the summer to what he thought was a long-shot campaign, saying he respected the candidate for "throwing his hat in the ring".

He said: "I don't feel like I've been misled at all."

"I don't think there's any confusion," he said, adding he intends to rank Democrat Mary Peltola first on his ballot, followed by Dan J Sullivan.

"Everybody knows who the incumbent is," he said.

Another donor Pat Campbell said: "No, we had not been defrauded. We knew to whom we had contributed."

Senator Dan S Sullivan took aim at Ms Peltola in a Fox News interview on Saturday, saying "there's no way Peltola doesn't know about" the alleged scheme to recruit Dan J Sullivan.

"It's deception. But at its worst, it's disdain for us Alaskans," he said. "Think about what they did. They're trying to make sure that Alaskans throw away their vote."

Mr Trump has called the case "voter fraud at the highest level".

He also suggested that Dan J Sullivan had gone into hiding.

"Nobody can find him now, so he knows he's guilty," the president said.

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The Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to ensure the preservation of ballots that "may be impacted by voter confusion".

The court filing requested the judge's help obtaining documents from the Democratic campaign and others to determine "whether Daniel J Sullivan's candidacy is frivolous or fraudulent".

Mr Trump's administration has also launched legal action seeking to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if Dan S Sullivan loses.

But the Republican-led state government in Alaska urged a federal judge on Saturday to permanently dismiss the lawsuit.

(c) Sky News 2026: Trump claims 'voter fraud' in election race where two candidates share same name