Sleazy decoy Dan tactic backfires, flipping Alaska voters to incumbent Sullivan

Alaska voters faced a confusing ballot on Monday as the state’s Senate race featured two candidates named Dan Sullivan. One male voter, who did not share his name, changed his preference from former Rep. Mary Peltola to incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan after reviewing reports on the election mechanics. The shift came as the race drew national attention for including a candidate with a nearly identical name to the incumbent Republican.

The controversy centers on an alleged Democratic strategy to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to run against the incumbent. A New York Times article published last week outlined the scheme, describing it as an attempt to use a 'decoy' candidate. The male voter described the situation as 'sketchy from the get-go.' He said that upon learning the details of the recruitment effort, he felt 'disgusted by the whole thing, so sleazy.'

A woman accompanying the voter noted that he had previously considered supporting Peltola. She characterized the alleged scheme as 'unethical' and stated she did not believe Peltola should be elected. Both confirmed they would cast their ballots for Sen. Dan S. Sullivan on Monday.

Peltola addressed the issue during a rally last week, denying direct involvement in the plot. 'I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about,' Peltola said. She added that she is 'not interested in tricking voters' and believes she can defeat the incumbent. Her campaign did not immediately respond to a comment request from Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Sen. Sullivan spoke on Monday about the impact of the duplicate name on the ballot. 'We all knew that the decoy Dan guy was fake, but the extent of the corruption, the extent of the cheating,' he said. President Donald Trump, who is backing Sullivan in the race, posted to Truth Social on Monday night. He called Sullivan 'the Best Senator in the History of Alaska' and argued the race should be run 'UNDER PROTEST' due to the 'FRAUD' of placing another Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

The race uses ranked-choice voting, a system that allows voters to rank candidates by preference. The presence of two candidates with nearly the same name created a specific challenge for voters attempting to distinguish between the incumbent and the challenger. The male voter’s decision to switch from Peltola to Sullivan illustrates how the alleged scheme influenced individual voting choices in the contest.