Alaska Senate race targeted by look-alike candidate scheme, GOP says
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A FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic strategist has installed a candidate who looks like him, whom Republicans fear will act as bait and create confusion around their real candidate.
Campaign material metadata reveals that Amber Lee, a progressive consultant, wrote a press release announcing a second Senate “Dan Sullivan” bid — which Republican strategists say is a challenge to incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is a figure he says has nothing to do with him.
“Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer know they cannot beat Senator Sullivan based on his record, so they are resorting to deceptive political maneuvers trying to deceive Alaskans and buy seats,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Spokesperson Nick Puglia told Fox News Digital.
Although Republicans have months to explain the situation to voters ahead of state primaries in August, the filings show efforts to sow confusion to influence a high-stakes Senate race.
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Newly introduced Senate candidate Dan Sullivan, left, Sen. Pictured with Dan Sullivan, D-Alaska, right. (Sullivan for the U.S. Senate; Brandon Bell-Pool/Getty Images)
offer website Addresses name overlap.
“Challenging Dan Sullivan for U.S. Senate Seat urges Alaskans to defeat incumbent, elect a Sullivan who stands up for Alaska,” it says.
According to his biography, this second Sullivan spent the early years of his career working blue-collar jobs such as logging, construction, bartending and forestry, but decided to enter his bid for the Senate after frustration with government mismanagement.
“Over time, he became increasingly frustrated with what he saw as federal inefficiency and a lack of long-term thinking in government,” the biography reads.
of the campaign Instagram page He has no posts and only two followers.
The campaign did not immediately respond to questions about whether Sullivan was running for office, whether the campaign had filed with the FEC or whether he was seeking to run as an independent.
Both Sullivans will take part in Alaska’s open primary system, with the top four candidates advancing to the general election.
If elected among them, a second Sullivan could appear on the ballot in November; It’s a development that could be particularly confusing for many of Alaska’s rural communities.
Despite the comical nature of the thinly veiled ploy, the application is especially valid in Alaska; It is one of only two states to implement ranked-choice voting. The system allows voters to choose more than one candidate in order of preference.
Under this model, voters may vote for a second, and sometimes even third, option even if their first choice is eliminated from contention.
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Former Representative Mary Peltola of Alaska is running to unseat Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in the 2026 midterm elections. (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post)
Sometimes called “instant runoff voting,” the system greatly increases the influence of candidates who would not normally be voters’ first choices.
Although Democratic strategist Lee did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, the documentation of his political leanings appears to rule out a serious campaign push for another Senate candidate who shares the name “Dan Sullivan.”
In addition to being mentioned as a supporter of Sullivan’s Democratic rival, Mary Peltoa, by New York Times, Lee’s consulting firm, Amber Strategies, lists a number of progressive clients, including Alaska Women Ascent.
The group aims to “educate pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ rights, pro-union, anti-racist, and pro-racial justice women” to serve as candidates and volunteers.
In the past, Alaska has historically voted Republican, but recently elected Peltola into its own at-large district in 2022.
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Senator Dan Sullivan will vote on the Laken Riley Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2025. (Allison Robber/AFP)
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Sullivan, who previously served as Alaska’s attorney general, first came to the Senate in 2015 and was most recently re-elected with a 53.9% to 41.2% victory over nonpartisan challenger Al Gross.
Alaska will hold its primary elections on August 18.
