Federal agents are interviewing contributors to an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan as investigators examine possible campaign deception and voter confusion days before the Nov. 3 election.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Federal investigators have expanded a criminal inquiry into Alaska’s U.S. Senate election, contacting campaign donors in Alaska and Massachusetts to determine whether they were deceived into supporting a candidate whose name closely matches that of incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The FBI interviews, conducted Friday, Oct. 30, and reported Saturday, come as the Justice Department seeks to determine whether the candidacy of retired teacher and musician Dan J. Sullivan involved fraudulent activity or an effort to confuse voters ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
According to reporting by The Associated Press published by Alaska Public Media, agents visited contributors in at least two remote Alaska communities and contacted donors in Massachusetts. The outreach follows confirmation of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into the candidate’s entry into the Senate race.
One FBI agent based in Anchorage traveled to Petersburg, a small fishing community in southeastern Alaska accessible only by air or water, where Dan J. Sullivan resides.
The agent visited a local boat dealership and left a business card for Charles Flint, a longtime acquaintance of the candidate who contributed $500 to his campaign during the summer.
Flint told the AP that he has known Sullivan for years and considers him a respected teacher and musician. He said his contribution was intentional despite recognizing that Sullivan faced a difficult campaign against the better-known incumbent.
Flint explained that he respected the candidate for “throwing his hat in the ring” and understood that running for federal office would involve expenses.
According to Flint, the FBI agent spoke with his son, who works at the dealership, and asked whether Flint believed he had been “misled” about which candidate he was supporting.
“I don’t feel like I’ve been misled at all,” Flint told the AP during a telephone interview. He said he had no intention of returning the agent’s call and would “let him waste his time trying to track me down.”
Flint also disputed the suggestion that voters in Alaska would have difficulty distinguishing between the two candidates.
“I don’t think there’s any confusion,” he said.
Flint said he intends to rank Democratic candidate Mary Peltola first on his ballot, followed by Dan J. Sullivan.
“Everybody knows who the incumbent is,” he added.
The investigation has also reached Sitka, another southeastern Alaska community, where two FBI agents visited a campaign donor’s residence.
The donor, who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, told the AP that agents asked whether the political contribution had gone to the intended candidate.
The conversation lasted approximately five minutes, according to the donor, who described the agents as “scrupulously polite” and said they emphasized that participation in the interview was voluntary.
Federal investigators made similar inquiries in Massachusetts, including at the home of Pat Campbell in Groton.
Campbell said two FBI agents visited her residence Friday and spoke with her husband about contributions to the Alaska candidate.
“They said they were from the FBI and investigating fraud in election contributions,” Campbell wrote in a text message to the AP.
“No, we had not been defrauded. We knew to whom we had contributed.”
The donors interviewed by the AP said they understood which candidate they were supporting, raising questions about whether federal investigators have identified evidence of actual donor deception.
The FBI’s outreach follows an escalation of federal scrutiny concerning the candidacy of Dan J. Sullivan, whose presence on the ballot has attracted attention because of his nearly identical name to the Republican incumbent.
The Associated Press previously examined the legal dispute surrounding the two candidates, including concerns that voters might mistakenly select the wrong Sullivan in Alaska’s ranked-choice election.
Under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, voters may rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing only one. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-performing candidate is eliminated and qualifying ballots are redistributed according to voters’ next preferences until a candidate receives a majority.
The presence of two candidates with similar names has prompted concerns among Republicans that some voters intending to support the incumbent could mistakenly select his challenger instead.
Federal officials are examining whether the circumstances surrounding Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy involved unlawful conduct, including potential misrepresentation in political fundraising.
Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage that the investigation had been underway for several months.
He said information reported by The New York Times suggesting that Peltola’s campaign may have played a role in recruiting the retired teacher to enter the race prompted a “significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska.”
The development has intensified scrutiny of Peltola, a former Democratic congresswoman challenging the incumbent senator in one of the nation’s closely watched Senate contests.
Peltola has denied participating in any effort to recruit candidates for the purpose of drawing votes away from the Republican incumbent.
Speaking Friday to campaign volunteers at an aviation museum in Anchorage, Peltola said she was “deeply offended” by the allegations.
She dismissed the accusations as “garbage” and described them as part of a “smear campaign” intended to discourage voter participation immediately before Election Day.
“I know I can beat Dan Sullivan. I do not need any help winning this race,” Peltola said.
The Justice Department has also taken steps to preserve potentially relevant voting materials while investigating whether the similar candidate names could produce confusion at the polls.
Federal prosecutors sought a court order Friday requiring certain Alaska ballots to be isolated for examination as part of the investigation.
The request introduces an additional legal dimension to the dispute because it involves federal authorities seeking access to election materials while the state prepares to administer and count ballots.
The investigation has also drawn attention from President Donald Trump, who has described the controversy as possible election fraud and publicly criticized the candidacy of the second Sullivan.
However, allegations of voter deception have not been established as criminal violations, and the donors interviewed by the AP said they knowingly contributed to the challenger rather than the incumbent.
The distinction between the two candidates is central to the investigation. The incumbent, Dan Sullivan, is a Republican seeking another term in the Senate, while Dan J. Sullivan is a retired educator and musician from Petersburg whose campaign has become the subject of federal scrutiny.
The investigation remains active as Alaska approaches its Nov. 3 election, with federal authorities examining campaign contributions, possible voter confusion and the circumstances surrounding the second Sullivan’s candidacy.
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