Rep. James Comer said Sunday there is a big possibility that Mary Peltola would not be seated even if she wins Alaska's Senate race, escalating a fight that could extend past Election Day. He made the comment when asked on 's Sunday Morning whether Peltola could be denied seating if she prevails.
Comer did not stop at the warning. He said he had not spoken to Sen. John Thune about the seating question, but added that the House would continue to press its own investigation. "We kind of tend to operate within the confinement of the House with respect to our investigations, but at the end of the day, I think the American people can see loud and clear what was done here," he said.
The Kentucky Republican has put Peltola's campaign at the center of allegations tied to a ballot-stacking scheme linked to Alaska's unusual nonpartisan, top four voting system. In his criticism, Comer pointed to a New York Times report alleging that the campaign and national Democrats recruited another candidate who shared the name of Dan Sullivan in an effort to dilute the GOP vote. He said, "We cannot allow this to happen," and pressed for answers on whether anyone was involved, when that involvement began and whether money changed hands.
That last question matters because it goes to the line between hardball politics and a violation that could justify action after the vote. GOP strategists previously told The Hill that ballot-stacking is not illegal, which makes Comer's suggestion a potential mismatch between a political complaint and a legal basis for blocking a winner from taking a seat. Comer has not yet laid out what law, if any, he believes was broken.
For now, the probe is moving forward on a tight schedule. Comer has requested transcribed, in-person interviews with Elisa Rios on Nov. 5 and Jerid Kurtz on Nov. 6, while Dan Sullivan said earlier Sunday that he would accept the election results even if he lost. Tim Scott dodged the same question, leaving Comer's warning hanging over a race that could be decided before the larger fight over seating is even resolved.
