Federal prosecutors are intensifying a months-long criminal investigation into how a second Dan Sullivan landed on Alaska’s U.S. Senate ballot, a move critics say was designed to confuse voters and siphon support from the Republican incumbent.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska is handling the inquiry into Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg in Southeast Alaska who appears on the ballot alongside Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Investigators are examining whether the sequence of events that put the namesake candidate in the race violated Alaska voters’ rights, with grand jury subpoenas expected in the hours and days ahead.
Breitbart News reported that the probe has been underway for months and gained fresh urgency after a New York Times investigation detailed recruitment efforts tied to Democrat Senate nominee Mary Peltola’s orbit. The federal inquiry is expected to continue beyond Election Day.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin relayed reporting from colleague David Spunt that investigators are preparing to seek preservation of communications held by phone companies. Earlier ABC News coverage described federal authorities examining possible wire fraud or a conspiracy involving the fairness of the election process, though it remained unclear who might face charges.
Alaska election officials initially sought to keep Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. off the ballot. They concluded his filing was intended to mislead voters. He challenged that decision in court, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld his eligibility to run.
The New York Times account, based on interviews with 12 sources plus text messages and documents, described a months-long effort involving people working with Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit additional candidates, including one who shared the incumbent senator’s name. Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, told the Times that voters should know about the recruitment effort. The DSCC denied participating.
Peltola’s campaign rejected any link. In a statement carried by Alaska Public Media, the Alaskans for Mary campaign said:
"The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,"
The campaign added that it was “focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC.” Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has maintained that his candidacy was independent of Peltola’s campaign.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy responded to the Times reporting by directing the Department of Public Safety to open its own probe. The New York Post reported that Dunleavy ordered investigators to determine whether Peltola campaign members and allies should face criminal charges or civil action for recruiting a same-named candidate to confuse voters and misdirect support from the incumbent.
Fox News reported Dunleavy’s formal direction in plain terms. The governor said:
"Today’s New York Times reporting reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections by recruiting candidates, including one with the same name as an incumbent U.S. Senator, to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes."
Dunleavy continued:
"I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted."
In Alaska’s ranked-choice Senate race, even a modest diversion of votes can matter. Republicans have framed the namesake candidacy as deliberate deception. Democrats have called the coverage a distraction. The federal and state tracks now sit side by side: one under the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the other under Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.
President Trump weighed in on Truth Social, accusing Democrats of recruiting the challenger to mislead voters and demanding accountability. He wrote:
"This is Voter Fraud at the Highest Level, and the Dumocrat Candidate, who was involved in the scheme, Mary Peltola, should be removed from the Ballot and prosecuted, So should the FAKE Dan Sullivan. Nothing else will do! This behavior in our Elections cannot be allowed to continue,"
No charges have been announced. The record shows an active investigation, expected subpoenas, competing denials, and a state-level follow-on ordered by the governor. Who ultimately faces legal exposure remains unresolved.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is a separate person from Sen. Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher from a small Southeast Alaska community who ended up sharing a ballot line with a sitting U.S. senator seeking reelection. Election officials tried to block that outcome on the ground that the filing was meant to mislead. The state’s high court let it stand. Federal prosecutors are now testing whether the path onto the ballot crossed into criminal territory involving voters’ rights.
Phone-company records are in the preservation crosshairs. Grand jury process is next. The inquiry is built to outlast Election Day itself. That timeline matters: voters will cast ballots while investigators are still gathering evidence about how a second Sullivan got there in the first place.
Clean elections require clear choices. When operatives hunt for a namesake candidate to scramble a ballot, and when federal prosecutors start issuing subpoenas over voters’ rights, the public is entitled to answers, not excuses.
