The Alaska Senate race is being targeted by a system of look-alike candidates, the GOP says
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FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic strategist has used a look-alike candidate that Republicans fear could act as a decoy and create confusion about the real nominee.
Campaign asset metadata reveals that Amber Lee, a progressive consultant, wrote a press release announcing the Senate’s bid to find a second “Dan Sullivan” — Republican strategists say he’s not related to Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.
“Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer know they can’t beat Senator Sullivan on his record, so they’re using political underhand tactics to try to trick Alaskans into buying a seat,” National Senate Committee spokesman Nick Puglia told Fox News Digital.
Although Republicans have months to explain the situation to voters before the state convention in August, the filing reflects efforts to create confusion to avoid the Senate race.
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Newly introduced Senate candidate Dan Sullivan, left, pictured with Sen. Dan Sullivan, D-Alaska, right. (US Senate Sullivan; Brandon Bell-Pool/Getty Images)
The campaign website relies on a catchphrase.
“Dan Sullivan is challenging Dan Sullivan for the US Senate seat, urging Alaskans to defeat the incumbent, electing Sullivan to represent Alaska,” it read.
According to his biography, the latter Sullivan spent his first career working in blue-collar jobs such as logging, construction, liquor sales and forestry, but decided to file for the Senate after being frustrated with the mismanagement of the government.
“Over time, he became increasingly frustrated with what he saw as the ineffectiveness of the government and the lack of long-term thinking in government,” the history reads.
The campaign’s Instagram page has no posts and only two followers.
The campaign did not immediately respond to questions about whether Sullivan has been asked to run, whether the campaign has filed with the FEC, or whether he intends to run as an independent.
Both Sullivans will appear in Alaska’s open primary, where the top four national candidates are.
If chosen among them, the second Sullivan could appear on the ballot in November – a development that could prove especially confusing for many rural Alaska communities.
Despite the ridiculous nature of the thinly veiled plan, the application is particularly important in Alaska — one of only two states to use selective voting. The system allows voters to choose as many candidates as they like.
Under this model, voters can still cast their ballot for a second, sometimes even a third option if their first choice is removed from contention.
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Former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, is running to unseat Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in the 2026 midterm elections. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
The system, sometimes called “speed voting,” greatly increases the influence of candidates who may not be a voter’s first choice.
Although Lee, a Democratic strategist, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital, documents about his political leanings seem to indicate a sincere effort to campaign for another Senate hopeful who recently shared the name “Dan Sullivan”.
In addition to being named a supporter of Mary Peltoa, Sullivan’s Democratic challenger, by the New York Times, Lee’s firm, Amber Strategies, lists a number of progressive clients, including Alaska Women Ascent.
The group aims to “train women who are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ rights, pro-union, anti-racist and pro-racial justice” to serve as candidates and volunteers.
In the past, Alaska has historically voted Republican, but Peltola was recently elected in its one, at-large district in 2022.
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Sen. Dan Sullivan votes on the Laken Riley Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 9, 2025. (Allison Robbert/AFP)
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Sullivan, who previously served as Alaska’s attorney general, first ran for the Senate in 2015 and won re-election in a 53.9% to 41.2% victory over rival Al Gross.
Alaska will host its first game on August 18.
