State and federal prosecutors in Alaska are investigating whether the campaign for a U.S. Senate candidate who has the same name as the Republican incumbent could be part of a conspiracy to confuse voters, two people with knowledge of the investigations told NBC News.

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Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher, announced his campaign in May and recently registered as a Republican. He has said he’s mounting a legitimate effort to unseat the other Sullivan, Dan S. Sullivan, who has been in office since 2015.

But Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Republicans have alleged that the newcomer launched the campaign in an attempt to confuse voters and that he’s working with the Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

Just this week, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Dan J. Sullivan can stay on the state’s August primary ballot. The state’s elections division had initially disqualified the challenger from the ballot, with Elections Director Carol Beecher alleging that the challenger filed to run “with a purpose to confuse or mislead” voters.

Now, NBC News has learned, the FBI, the Alaska attorney general and the U.S. attorney’s office in Alaska are all investigating whether two or more people conspired to create the Sullivan challenger’s campaign with the intention to confuse voters, hurt the incumbent and boost votes for Peltola.

It is possible that both the Sullivans and Peltola could all be on the November ballot, since the top four vote-getters in the Aug. 18 primary advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The general election contest is then decided by ranked-choice voting.

Alaska’s Senate race will be key to the fight for Senate control in November’s midterm elections, with Democrats looking to net four seats to take control of the chamber. And Democrats have held up Peltola as a strong recruit, saying Alaska is a prime pickup opportunity, even though President Donald Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024.

One of the people familiar with the investigations said the Alaska attorney general’s office began its investigation into whether any state laws were violated before federal investigators began their probe. The federal investigation is looking for possible wire fraud or a conspiracy to deprive Alaska voters of a free and fair elections process, which could be a civil rights violation, the people said.

Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the Alaska attorney general’s office, declined to comment on whether such an investigation exists.

“The Department of Law generally will neither confirm or deny the existence of a criminal investigation,” Curtis said in a statement. “That said, the Alaska Attorney General’s Office is not an investigating agency. Any allegations of criminal conduct is referred to federal, state, or local law enforcement.”

The people familiar with the investigation said it wasn’t clear yet who could face potential charges in either state or federal investigations, or whether that might affect the upcoming election.

U.S. Attorney Michael Hyman was appointed by the Trump administration, and acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

In a statement, Harry Child, a spokesperson for Peltola, denied her campaign had anything to do with the rival Dan Sullivan.

“Our campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Mary is focused on lowering costs for Alaskans, and our campaign will be connecting with Alaskans across the state to ensure their voices are heard on Election Day,” Child told NBC News.

Sen. Sullivan’s campaign declined to comment, while the challenger Sullivan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan, the political newcomer, denied any coordination or contact with the Peltola campaign, the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic strategists.

Spokespeople with the U.S. attorney’s office in Alaska did not respond to requests for comment.

SEWARD — When David Norris moved to Colorado a few years ago, he figured his career as an elite athlete was more or less over.

Norris, a Fairbanksan who trained as a world-class cross country skier for more than a decade, took a job coaching for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

But somehow he has only managed to improve.

Norris won the Mount Marathon men’s race on Saturday, his seventh victory in seven races — putting him just one win off the all-time men’s mark of eight set by the legendary Bill Spencer.

What little bit Norris may have lost physically, he’s made up for with an alloy of balance and gratitude that continues to motivate him at age 35.

“I view myself as fortunate for sure,” he said. “When I moved to Colorado, that was sort of like me thinking I was done competing.

“I’m a full-time banker now, but I think I have time in my life to prioritize exercise, and my wife and I like to do it together. … It’s what I love to do, and so having races is just like little extra inspiration.”

As rain and mist traded punches on the field, the route to the peak was slick and unpredictable.

But Norris used the same approach that helped him win the previous six. He built a lead on the uphill and cruised on the downhill to finish in a time of 43 minutes, 8 seconds.

But even the champion fell victim to a tough race in tricky conditions.

“I actually fell like, three times,” he said. “Basically, I’d never fallen until this year. I didn’t feel like I really had a great rhythm in the downhill. I was driving to lift my toes, which is just weird, like my legs felt really stiff.”

The conditions meant Norris was unable to improve on the course record of 40:37 that he set in 2024. But the win meant he pulled away from Sven Johanson and Brad Precosky, who he was tied with in the all-time wins category with six.

Finding himself among the luminaries in the race has been an interesting turn of events as he has grown older and now represents the pinnacle of the race for a younger generation.

“I remember growing up being really excited watching Eric Strabel get the course record (in 2013), and then to be like, part of that now is super special,” he said. “It’s cool how much Eric and those guys inspired me. So hopefully, it’s good for all the junior racers that are out there.”

Following the race, Norris shared a nice moment in the finish pen with his parents, who made the trip down from Fairbanks.

Norris claimed his first title in 2016, followed that up with victories in 2018 and 2021, and now has won four straight starting in 2023. While he isn’t training like he was in those early years when he was a U.S. Ski Team member, what he’s doing is clearly working.

“I think I’ve gotten better at certain things and maybe weaker at other things,” he said. “But overall, I think I’m maximizing the amount of time I’m putting towards training and I’m having fun, so ultimately if I’m happy and it’s going well, I’m not gonna change it.”

[Anchorage’s Klaire Rhodes earns a 3rd straight Mount Marathon women’s title]

[Thale Randall, Wren Spangler take junior titles at Mount Marathon Race]

Squamish, British Columbia, runner Jessie McCauley placed second, finishing in 43:54.

McCauley said the Seward conditions were just like being at home as temperatures hovered in the low 50s while rain fell on the runners.

“Coming from Squamish, we’re used to six months of rain, so it kind of felt like home a little bit,” he said. “But, in all honesty, I had a (personal record) today by like, 30 seconds, and I really wasn’t anticipating in these conditions. It just goes to show that temperatures really make a difference, especially on this course.”

The top five was rounded out by Lower 48 runners.

Bayden Menton of Gunnison, Colorado, placed third (44:02), followed by Jackson Cole of Missoula, Montana (44:16). David Kennedy of Boulder, Colorado, placed fifth with a time of 44:43.

Anchorage’s William McGovern finished in eighth after a strong uphill effort.

Next year, Norris said he’ll be back looking for No. 8. But he’s still two wins behind the all-time record holder Nina Kemppel, who won nine.

“Last year, Nina Kemppel gave me a hard time saying I’ve still got a long ways to go to her nine,” he said. “That’s pretty awesome. I’d love to keep racing, and I’ll be doing it my whole life.”

Ryan Izquierdo is a prominent figure in the fishing community with millions of followers social media. His most recent catch, a yelloweye rockfish, is not only the most orange fish you have ever seen, it is (probably) older than your grandmother.

He pulled the dinosaur-sized aquatic creature from the depths of the Pacific Ocean in Alaska.

For someone who has done a lot of fishing in remote locations all over the world to get this excited about a new catch should tell you everything you need to know. It is extremely difficult to catch this specific fish at this size!

Who is Ryan Izquierdo?

If you are a member of the angler community, you might already be familiar with ‘Ryan Iz.’ I compare him to a modern-day Jeremy Wade because he also catches prehistoric-looking fish on a rod and reel and documents his adventures on video.

Instead of a TV show that airs on Animal Planet or Discover Channel, Izquierdo posts on social media. He has more than three million followers on TikTok, 350,000 followers on Instagram and one million subscribers on YouTube.