A New York Times investigation has revealed an alleged effort by operatives linked to Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit a second Dan Sullivan for Alaska’s ballot. The report emerged as nearly one in 10 registered Alaska voters had already cast their ballots.
As a result, roughly 58,000 voters may have made their choices before learning about the reported effort, which critics say was designed to create confusion by placing two candidates with the same name on the ballot.
Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC have denied any involvement.
Dan J. Sullivan advanced to the four-candidate general election earlier this year after receiving 2.5% of the vote in the primary. His campaign announcement did not identify a party affiliation, and his website does not outline his positions on political issues.
“Dan Sullivan challenges Dan Sullivan for U.S. Senate Seat, urges Alaskans to defeat incumbent, elect a Sullivan who stands up for Alaska,” the announcement read.
The New York Times reported that the effort to recruit potential Republican spoiler candidates included Dan J. Sullivan. According to text messages, interviews and internal documents reviewed by the newspaper, the effort involved coordination between the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Peltola’s staff.
A source interviewed by The New York Times said Peltola was aware of the effort.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last week seeking to delay certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan is defeated, citing the potential for voter confusion. It remains unclear whether the DOJ is likely to prevail on those grounds.
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Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system adds another layer of uncertainty to the Senate race.
Under the system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If their first choice is eliminated, their vote transfers to their next-ranked candidate. Supporters say ranked-choice voting gives voters more power and increases the influence of candidates who might not otherwise be a first choice. Critics, however, argue that it can make elections more confusing.
Alaska state Sen. James Kaufman, a Republican, is among those critics.
Kaufman worries that some voters may not rank both candidates named Dan Sullivan, leaving themselves less prepared for later rounds of counting.
He said some Alaskans, particularly Republicans, remain unwilling to use the system because they object to how it was implemented.
“Some people have a pretty strong traditionalist perspective: one person, one man, one vote,” Kaufman told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
“And so, the ballot fatigue where people just don’t rank because maybe they disagree with it; there’s a pretty strong segment of the population here that just patently disagrees with the ranked-choice voting system we ended up with. And they don’t necessarily believe in utilizing it,” he added.
Less than a week remains before the Nov. 3 general election.
