FBI Questions Donors of Alaska's Second Dan Sullivan as State Calls DOJ Bid to Set Aside His Ballots 'Disturbing and Impossible'
FBI agents have begun contacting donors of Dan J. Sullivan, the Alaska U.S. Senate candidate who shares a name with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, asking whether they were misled about which candidate they were supporting, the Associated Press reported early Sunday.
The visits come two days before Tuesday's ranked-choice general election, in a race between Sullivan, the two-term incumbent, and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola that could help decide control of the Senate. On Saturday, Alaska's Republican-run state government urged a federal judge to throw out a Justice Department lawsuit that seeks to block certification of a possible Peltola win.
What the FBI Asked Dan Sullivan's Donors
According to the AP, agents have reached donors in at least two remote Alaska communities and a couple in Massachusetts. Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage on Friday that a federal investigation has been underway for several months, and that a New York Times report that Peltola's campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting the second Sullivan, a retired teacher, led to a "significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska."
An Anchorage-based FBI agent visited a boat dealership in Petersburg, the fishing town where Dan J. Sullivan lives, and asked the son of donor Charles Flint whether his father felt "misled," the AP reported. Flint, who gave $500, told the AP, "I don't feel like I've been misled at all." A donor in Sitka said two agents asked whether the contribution went to the Sullivan the donor intended, and a Massachusetts donor said agents told her husband they were "investigating fraud in election contributions."
President Trump, asked about the case Saturday night at a Halloween event at Mar-a-Lago, called it "voter fraud at the highest level" and said of Dan J. Sullivan, "Nobody can find him now, so he knows he's guilty." That is his claim, not verified; no one has been charged. Trump also suggested, without details, that Democratic leaders outside Alaska could be involved.
Peltola has denied any role. At a rally Friday she called the allegations "garbage" and part of a "smear campaign," saying, "I do not need any help winning this race." Dan J. Sullivan has said he did not run at Democrats' behest, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has denied involvement.
Alaska Says Setting Aside Ballots Would Breach Voter Privacy
On Friday, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to order state officials to "preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan" so investigators could examine whether those rankings were "the product of voter confusion," according to a filing quoted by the AP. The department also filed proposed questions it wants the Peltola campaign and the DSCC compelled to answer.
In its Saturday filing, the state attorney general's office called the ballot request "both disturbing and impossible," saying it could not be done without violating voter privacy, and said there is "no reason for this Court to entertain this meritless lawsuit any longer." The state noted that the ballot lists the senator as the Republican incumbent and the other candidate as "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." and that the Alaska Supreme Court ruled this summer that he met the legal requirements to stay on the ballot. "Not every wrong can be righted in federal court," the state wrote.
Gleason had set Saturday as the deadline for arguments on whether to dismiss the case without a hearing. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, has opened a separate state inquiry.
Sources: Associated Press via New York Post, "FBI visits 'Decoy Dan' Sullivan donors as feds ramp up investigation into Alaska Senate candidate" (Nov. 1, 2026): https://nypost.com/2026/11/01/us-news/alaska-senate-candidate-dan-j-sullivans-donors-contacted-by-fbi/ ; Associated Press via NBC10 Philadelphia, Alaska's Saturday filing (Oct. 31, 2026): https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/alaska-trump-demand-senate-ballots/4489143/ ; Associated Press via WBAL-TV, Justice Department ballot request (Oct. 30, 2026): https://www.wbaltv.com/article/doj-separate-alaska-ballots-dan-sullivan-senate/74299632 ; docket, United States v. State of Alaska, No. 3:26-cv-00376-SLG (D. Alaska): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75009254/united-states-v-state-of-alaska/ . Cover photo: Petersburg harbor walk by brewbooks via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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