A new report links Democratic operatives to efforts to recruit Sullivan in an effort to confuse supporters of the incumbent with the same name.
A Department of Justice grand jury investigation into the campaign of copycat Alaska Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan is ongoing, a source familiar with the matter told National Review, after a New York Times report linked Democratic operatives to efforts to recruit Sullivan to join the race in an apparent effort to confuse supporters of the Republican incumbent with the same name.
The department launched an investigation in July into potential wire fraud or conspiracy to make the election process unfair, as first reported by ABC News. The DOJ later issued subpoenas in August as part of its efforts to determine whether Sullivan’s candidacy was an intentional attempt to confuse supporters of GOP incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
Earlier this month, the DOJ filed a federal lawsuit attempting to delay the certification of election results in the state if it appears that votes cast for the duplicate Sullivan affected the results.
President Donald Trump previously told reporters he asked the Justice Department to initiate the suit.
According to text messages, interviews, and documents, the coalition — which included operatives with the campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola — sought to recruit candidates who could siphon votes from the Republican incumbent and improve Peltola’s chances of winning, the Times reported. The alleged parties involved have continuously denied their involvement.
Ahead of Wednesday’s report, Republicans had long alleged the second Sullivan’s campaign was an attempt to mislead voters.
National Review reported on the scheme to place the fake Sullivan on the ballot back in July, detailing the complex web of Democratic operatives who were not only aware of Sullivan, but who also had with ties to the Peltola campaign.
Alaska utilizes a ranked-choice voting system, meaning voters will see both Sullivans on the ballot in the midterm election. The hope, in theory, is that voters will be confused which Sullivan is which, and in the confusion, Peltola will win and become Alaska’s next senator.
Sullivan ran as a Republican, as did the two-term incumbent Sullivan, but a local Alaska publication reported Monday that the decoy candidate requested an absentee ballot as an undeclared voter — a type of independent — before August’s primary election, according to records from the Alaska Division of Elections.
On Tuesday’s ballot, the second Sullivan will be listed as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” with no party affiliation. Yet, his campaign website still says he is running as a Republican.
“Peltola will be held accountable this election for her dishonesty and deception,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott told NR in a statement. “Alaskans will leave Peltola unranked on the ballot because of her dirty tricks. Voters can trust the real Dan Sullivan, and I’m confident he’ll be re-elected.”
The Alaska Division of Elections initially disqualified the second Dan Sullivan from the Senate race, concluding that his candidacy was intended to confuse or mislead voters. State courts overturned that decision in June, allowing him back on the ballot ahead of Alaska’s August primary.
The copycat Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg, Alaska, a small town of about 3,000 people.
The second Sullivan campaign did not immediately respond to National Review‘s request for comment but denied the allegations in comments to the New York Times.