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Daniel J. Sullivan, the retired teacher challenging incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, wrote in a letter to Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom that allegations of a plot to mislead voters were entirely false. He stated that he was running for U.S. Senate as a Republican under his lawfully given name, which he shares with his father and grandfather, and that he had no conversations whatsoever with the Peltola campaign about his candidacy. A New York Times report this week detailed how operatives aligned with Democratic candidate Mary Peltola had helped recruit him and other candidates in an attempt to siphon votes from the incumbent in the ranked-choice voting system, prompting renewed denials from both Peltola and the challenger as federal authorities opened a criminal probe.
Peltola told a campaign event in Juneau that she knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for herself and the incumbent. She added that she was not interested in tricking voters and believed she could defeat Sen. Sullivan outright. According to FactCheck.org, the challenger’s June letter to election officials asserted he was not a registered Democrat and had zero contact with Peltola’s campaign, a position he has maintained amid the escalating inquiries.
The controversy began after the challenger filed his candidacy declaration on May 29, just before the deadline, and initially received certification from the Division of Elections. Republican officials, including the Alaska Republican Party and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, filed complaints arguing the bid was designed to confuse voters given the shared name and the challenger’s prior donations to Democrats including Peltola. Division Director Carol Beecher disqualified him in June, citing a lack of good-faith candidacy, but courts reversed that move.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled that no statute supported removal based on good-faith criteria, a decision the Alaska Supreme Court upheld on June 29 by affirming the challenger’s eligibility and leaving ballot formatting to election officials. The Division subsequently listed the incumbent as Sullivan, Dan S., registered Republican incumbent, and the challenger as Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr., with no party affiliation, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Both advanced from the August primary, setting up the Nov. 3 general election in a contest that could influence which party controls the Senate.
The Justice Department has now confirmed it is investigating the alleged scheme and seeking to separate ballots ranking the challenger to assess any voter confusion, according to AP News. Prosecutors encouraged tips from the public in what represents an unusual public disclosure of a criminal probe so close to Election Day. President Trump directed the department to file a lawsuit that would prevent certification of results if Sen. Sullivan falls short, claiming that reallocating the challenger’s votes under ranked-choice tabulation would have secured a win for the incumbent.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a parallel state investigation, stating that the Times reporting revealed disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate elections by recruiting a namesake candidate. The incumbent’s campaign accused Peltola and Democrats of months of gaslighting while running the scheme, according to Newsweek. Legal experts have cast doubt on the viability of blocking certification, with one Anchorage attorney describing the arguments as lacking solid grounding in law.
