WASHINGTON — A little-known super PAC backing retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan in Alaska’s closely contested Senate race is being financed in part by progressive donors, according to newly released campaign-finance disclosures.
Sullivan, nicknamed “Decoy Dan,” shares the same first and last name as incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska. Although he is running as a Republican, Dan J. Sullivan has voted against Donald Trump in each of the past three presidential elections.
Republicans have repeatedly alleged that “Decoy Dan” was recruited and supported by Democrats as a spoiler intended to confuse voters in what is expected to be a tight contest between Sen. Sullivan and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska. Those accusations have fueled complaints to the Federal Election Commission and related litigation.
Recent disclosures appear to bolster that theory. Right for Alaska, the super PAC that has spent nearly $1.15 million supporting “Decoy Dan,” received approximately $990,000 from the progressive Sixteen Thirty Fund, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Right for Alaska, which lists a mailing address in Hudson, Wisconsin, a Twin Cities suburb, also received $1.8 million from Liberty Force Action Fund. The organization is a dark-money 501(c)(4) group that is not required to reveal its donors.
Both Right for Alaska and Liberty Force Action Fund list Thomas Datwyler as their treasurer. Datwyler has previously been linked to former Long Island Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.
Datwyler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Conservative groups have urged the Justice Department to investigate Datwyler and what they describe as his campaign-finance activity, accusing him of “running roughshod over federal campaign finance” law.
Both Dan Sullivans will appear on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot after finishing among the top four candidates in Alaska’s nonpartisan August primary.
Dan J. Sullivan was removed from the primary ballot in June by Alaska’s top election official. The official determined that a “preponderance of the evidence” indicated Sullivan had selected his name and party affiliation with the potential to confuse voters.
Several days later, the Alaska Supreme Court ordered “Decoy Dan” restored to the ballot. The court ruled that state law did not require candidates to run in good faith and directed the Division of Elections to take less drastic measures to distinguish between the two Sullivans.
The New York Times reported in August that Sullivan, who calls himself a moderate Republican, had attended anti-Trump “No Kings” protests and supported Peltola in both of her congressional campaigns. The report also noted that a magnet featuring far-left revolutionary Che Guevara was displayed on his refrigerator.
Under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, either Peltola or Sen. Sullivan must secure more than 50% of the vote to win the seat.
The latest RealClearPolitics polling average shows Peltola ahead by 2.5 percentage points, with 49.5% support compared with Sullivan’s 47.0%.
