In Alaska, the Other Dan Sullivan Has Not Been Seen for Weeks - and the FBI Has Been Knocking in Petersburg
The retired teacher whose near-identical name turned Alaska's Senate race into a federal investigation has gone quiet in his fishing hometown, days before a ranked-choice election that could help decide the Senate.
Petersburg, Alaska - In the fishing community of Petersburg, nobody has seen Dan J. Sullivan for weeks, the Associated Press reported in its early-Monday news summary. His rustic home stood dark a day after FBI agents paid a visit to friends who donated to his campaign to unseat the Republican senator with the same first and last name - Dan S. Sullivan.
What may have begun as a ploy to boost Democrat Mary Peltola by confusing voters about her opponent has taken a serious turn, AP reported, as the Trump administration weighs criminal charges over a tactic known as 'ballot stacking.' Federal officials have confirmed a criminal probe, and the Justice Department has pushed for a court order to isolate Alaska ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan while it investigates potential voter confusion. No charges have been announced.
AP reported that FBI agents have contacted the candidate's donors in at least two remote Alaska communities and in Massachusetts, asking whether they felt misled about which candidate they were supporting. Charles Flint, a Petersburg boat-dealership owner who gave $500 over the summer, told AP he has known Dan J. Sullivan for years as a respected teacher and musician and did not believe there was any confusion. Peltola has denied knowing anything about an effort to put the namesake candidate on the ballot, saying she is not interested in tricking voters.
On the ballot, the senator is listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent, while the challenger appears as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. with no party affiliation. Alaska votes by ranked choice on Tuesday in a race headlined by the two-term Republican incumbent and Peltola, a former congresswoman - one of a handful of races expected to determine which party organizes the Senate in January.
