A Second Dan Sullivan Is on Alaska's Ballot, and Democrats Are Accused of Putting Him There
The retired teacher shares a name with the Republican incumbent, and a report of a recruitment plot has rattled supporters days before the vote.
Up First from NPR · Final Days Of Midterm Campaigning, Alaska Senate Race Controversy, Iran War PlansMary Peltola, the Democrat trying to unseat Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, gave a speech last night at a gathering in Juneau, the state capital, to respond to allegations that her side helped recruit a second Dan Sullivan to run against her opponent.
"I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent," Peltola said. "That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters."
At issue is a third contender, a retired schoolteacher who happens to share the senator's full name. After he entered the contest in the spring, Republican critics denounced the move as an underhanded ploy, saying the aim was to mislead people into marking their ballots for the wrong man in a ranked choice election, in which voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Peltola, along with Democratic organizations at the national level, said they played no role in his candidacy. The New York Times reported there was a coordinated effort to recruit a namesake challenger. NPR has not independently verified that reporting. The Times quoted a fired Peltola campaign manager saying Peltola knew about the recruitment effort, and said the former aide pointed to texts as support for the claim that her team was involved.
President Trump said Peltola should face criminal charges. The Justice Department sued to block certification of the result if Senator Sullivan loses narrowly, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the Republican governor of Alaska, asked the state to investigate whether any laws were broken. Peltola's campaign, along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, countered that only the other Sullivan knows why he chose to run, and accused federal officials of interfering in the election.
The report has unsettled many Peltola supporters, who say they are disheartened but still plan to vote for her. Adam Lees, a nonpartisan voter from Anchorage, put it this way.
"It's obviously like not the best look," Lees said. "It does give, I think some of the kids would describe it, icky vibes. But at the same time, I think voters are intelligent and can figure out which Dan Sullivan is their person."
Voters who look closely will see a difference on the ballot. One listing uses a middle initial and labels that man as the sitting Republican senator, while the other listing gives the full name, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
Questions people ask
How does ranked choice voting work in Alaska?
In Alaska's system, voters rank candidates in order of preference instead of picking just one. If no one wins a majority of first choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those ballots count toward voters' next choices, until someone has a majority.
Is it illegal to recruit someone to run as a spoiler?
Election lawyers have not been able to name one that would apply. Candidates' motives for running generally do not matter under Alaska law, even if the conduct is seen as unethical.
Who is the other Dan Sullivan?
Very little has been made public. He is described as a retired teacher who filed in May under the name Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., and his reasons for running are disputed.