Chuck Schumer spent over a year pouring millions into Alaska trying to take down Senator Dan Sullivan.
Now he put another Dan Sullivan on the same ballot.
What happened next is one of Schumer’s dirtiest tricks yet to meddle in an election.
How Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer Put a Fake Dan Sullivan on the Alaska Ballot
Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is running for re-election in a state Trump won by 13 points and is winning in the polls.
Former Rep. Mary Peltola is the Democrat Schumer recruited to take him down, and outside Democratic groups have already dropped $4.5 million into Alaska on her behalf.
But it’s not working so Democrats found another way in.
An elementary school teacher named Dan Sullivan – a registered Democrat until days before he filed – suddenly became a Republican Senate candidate in Alaska.
Alaska uses a ranked-choice system where the top four primary vote-getters – regardless of party – advance to the general election.
If a fake Dan Sullivan can make it out of the August primary and into the general election, he could tip the race to Democrats.
The fake Sullivan name on the general election ballot means confused voters – older Alaskans, low-information voters, anyone who glances at a name and checks a box – could hand their vote to a Democrat-planted decoy without ever knowing it.
That is not a bug in Schumer's plan. That is the plan.
Metadata from the new challenger's campaign announcement traced directly back to Amber Lee – a Democratic consultant and known Peltola supporter.
Senator Sullivan did not mince words about what he was looking at.
"The Democrats, Schumer, they've been pounding me for over a year with money," he said. "And now they realize they can't beat me, so they're gonna cheat."
He did not just copy Sullivan's party registration – he copied his logo.
Same font, white and yellow typeface, dark blue background, and same star.
That is not a coincidence. That is someone sitting at a computer, staring at a sitting U.S. Senator's campaign materials, and deliberately building a replica designed to fool Alaskans who glance at a ballot for three seconds.
The NRSC Is Demanding Alaska Election Officials Remove the Fake Dan Sullivan
The National Republican Senatorial Committee did not wait.
The NRSC sent a formal letter to the Alaska Division of Elections and the state's lieutenant governor Monday demanding that "Dan J. Sullivan" – the teacher, the Democrat-turned-Republican – be struck from the ballot entirely.
Alaska regulations state that a candidate's name cannot appear on the ballot in a manner that is "confusing or misleading to voters or compromises the fairness or neutrality of the ballot."
The NRSC called him exactly what he is – a sham candidate – and put that word in the official letter.
Senator Sullivan plans legal action. His campaign has documented the metadata link to the Democratic consultant. Peltola's campaign denied involvement. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not respond to requests for comment.
Their silence is the tell.
Democrats Used a Sham Candidate to Flip a Florida Senate Seat and Got Caught
This is not creative. It is recycled.
In 2020, a Republican operative in Florida recruited a candidate named Alex Rodriguez to run against Democratic incumbent State Senator José Javier Rodríguez – same last name, different first name, enough confusion to flip a seat. Prosecutors later charged the operative. The tactic worked.
Democrats watched that race. They took notes. Now they are running the same play in Alaska – except they went further and found someone with the exact same first and last name.
The Florida version ended in criminal charges. The Alaska version got a letter from the NRSC.
Schumer is betting Alaska election officials move slower than a Florida prosecutor. Sullivan is betting they don't.
Sources:
- Lindsey McPherson, "GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan prepares legal fight against primary challenger named Dan Sullivan," The Washington Times, June 2, 2026.
- "GOP fights to stop multiple Dan Sullivans from appearing on Alaska ballot, calls move 'sham,'" Fox News, June 2, 2026.
- "Ranked choice voting adds wrinkle for GOP in Alaska's U.S. Senate race," The Washington Times, February 16, 2026.
- "In Alaska's U.S. Senate race, it's Mary Peltola, two Dan Sullivans and 12 others," Alaska Beacon, June 2, 2026.