One of the most vulnerable Republican senators is facing a stunning new threat to his political livelihood from a man with the same name as him after a Democrat strategist pulled off a dirty trick.
Fox News reported that campaign material metadata reveals that Amber Lee, a far-left Democrat consultant, authored a press release announcing a Alaska Senate bid for a “Dan Sullivan” who has nothing to do with incumbent Alaska GOP Senator Sullivan.
The Dan Sullivan whom Lee planted claims that he is running because Senator Sullivan “failed to put Alaska first.”
“For too long, Senator Sullivan has failed to put Alaska first,” Dan Sullivan, a Petersburg resident, said while announcing his candidacy. “When you care about a people and a place, you have a duty to make every sacrifice in your power to protect them.”
“That’s why I’m running.”
LOOK:
🚨BREAKING: “Dan Sullivan” launches his campaign to challenge incumbent US Senator Dan Sullivan.
A candidate with the same name as the GOP senator announced today that he has filed his candidacy for the 2026 US Senate election in Alaska.
This could cause many voters to be… pic.twitter.com/XtWkKGEjEq
— Election Time (@ElectionTime_) May 29, 2026
Fox News notes that Lee’s consulting firm, Amber Strategies, lists several leftist clients, including Alaska Women’s Ascent.
This 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.
The National Republican Senate Committee was rightfully livid over the dirty trick pulled by Democrats.
“Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer know they can’t beat Senator Sullivan on his record, so they’re resorting to deceitful political maneuvers that attempt to trick Alaskans and buy a seat,” NRSC Committee Spokesperson Nick Puglia told Fox News.
Both Sullivans will appear in Alaska’s ridiculous open primary system, where the top four candidates advance to the general election. This means Alaska voters could be asked to pick TWICE between two people with the same name.
More from Fox News:
If selected among them, the second Sullivan may appear on the ballot in November — a development that could prove especially confusing to Alaska’s many rural communities.
Despite the comedic nature of the thinly-veiled ploy, the filing is especially relevant in Alaska — one of only two states that have implemented ranked choice voting. The system allows voters to select multiple candidates in order of preference.
Under this model, voters can still apply their vote to a second, sometimes even a third option if their first choice is eliminated from contention.
The system, sometimes called “instant runoff voting,” greatly increases the influence of candidates that may not otherwise be a voter’s first choice.
Making the Democrats’ sabotage effort even more obvious is that the civilian Dan Sullivan has an Instagram account with no posts and just four followers.
Senator Dan Sullivan is currently in a very tight race with former Democratic representative Mary Peltola. The most recent polls show Peltola with a small lead.
Should she win, the Democrats’ chances of taking the Senate skyrocket. Thus, it’s completely unsurprising they are pulling out all the stops.
There is a small silver lining for the GOP, however: Alaska News Source notes that if there are two Dan Sullivan’s on the ballot, a Division of Elections spokesperson said middle initials will be used, citing state law.
But will voters be savvy enough to make the distinction?
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