Alaska Senate Race: FBI Questions Local Donors

FBI agents arrived in Petersburg, Alaska, this week to question residents who donated to the campaign of Dan J. Sullivan. Sullivan is a former elementary school teacher running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Dan S. Sullivan. The federal inquiry focuses on allegations of ballot stacking, a tactic intended to draw votes away from the incumbent.

Sharon Hunter, a local resident, received a visit from agents on Saturday. She and her husband donated $1,000 to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign. Hunter described the investigation as a waste of taxpayer money. She noted that the agents were targeting a community contributor rather than a major political figure.

Anna Holmes and her husband also met with agents on Friday night. The couple donated $500 to Dan J. Sullivan. Holmes stated that the investigators told her they were looking into campaign finance violations. They asked if the couple had intended to donate to the incumbent senator. Holmes said she told the agent she would not have done that.

The controversy began when Dan J. Sullivan entered the primary race in June. The Alaska Division of Elections initially tried to remove him from the ballot, claiming he did not file in good faith. State courts later overturned that decision. To prevent confusion, officials list Dan S. Sullivan as the incumbent Republican on the ballot.

Dan J. Sullivan has maintained that he entered the race on his own. He told the Associated Press in June that he had zero contact with the campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola. He denied that any Democratic operatives approached him to run as a spoiler candidate.

Peltola has sought to distance herself from the incident. She denied any role in recruiting decoy candidates during a rally in Anchorage last week. A New York Times article linked a group backing Peltola to a Democratic operative trying to recruit such candidates. Peltola told supporters that Alaskans are not in the business of tricking one another.

The Trump administration has moved quickly in response to the situation. A federal lawsuit filed by the Justice Department aimed to revive efforts to challenge Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy. A federal judge dismissed that suit on Sunday. The Justice Department appealed the decision shortly after.

Petersburg, a fishing town of 3,000 people, is experiencing a surge in media attention. Many residents know Dan J. Sullivan personally. They describe him as a creative teacher who ran an after-school guitar program. Some donors, including retired fisherman Ed Wood, supported him to repay help he gave during a local environmental fight. Others, like retired boat seller Charles Flint, called him a liberal thinker who sometimes voted for Republicans.

Not everyone in town supports Dan J. Sullivan. Amanda Ohmer, a local bartender, expressed shock that he ran as a Republican just days after Peltola visited town. Ohmer said she supported the federal investigation. She called the situation sleazy and noted that just because Republicans use similar tactics does not make them right. The race features an open primary and ranked choice voting, which allows lesser-known candidates to influence the outcome if no contender secures a majority.

The Justice Department is appealing the dismissal of its federal lawsuit. The FBI continues to interview contributors in Petersburg. Dan J. Sullivan has not responded to recent media inquiries. Several donors said they have not spoken to him in weeks. The senator, Dan S. Sullivan, told trick-or-treaters on Saturday night that his costume represented the real Dan Sullivan, not the fake guy.