Supporters of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Pertola of Juneau, Alaska, told CBS News they still support her candidacy.
Pertola faced intense criticism after a New York Times report said operatives aligned with her campaign were involved in recruiting Dan Sullivan. Pertola denied involvement in or knowledge of the scheme.
Democrat Bob Coghill said he believed the controversy could hurt Pertola’s decision-making authority.
“I do think it hurts her chances,” Coghill said. “I think some people are going to think it’s a little too clever, a little too out of touch, and it’s going to hurt some people’s votes – especially last-minute voters.”
Carter Bancroft, an independent voter who will vote early for Pertola, said he doesn’t like the political charade but questioned the effort to prosecute Pertola.
“It looked like a mess,” Bancroft said. “It seems to me that he may have come into this game to confuse people.”
He added: “I don’t like the shenanigans on both sides, the gerrymandering in all sorts of ways, and the politicians in a lot of ways seem to be more about confusing people than about the actual issues. I feel like that’s possible here, and I don’t like that. But on the other hand, it doesn’t seem to be – if it were true, it might be tasteless, but it’s not criminal.”
Democrat Leah Haskell-Cummins called the charges against Pertola “ridiculous” and “fear-mongering.” She said the vote clearly differentiated between Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan, making it less likely voters would be confused.