UMVA has learned that a brazen Democrat scheme to sabotage incumbent Alaska GOP Senator Dan Sullivan has failed, foiled by the state's top elections officials.
The plot involved a Democrat operative working to register a man named Daniel J. Sullivan as Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent Senator's name, as a Republican primary challenger. The decoy saboteur, Daniel J. Sullivan, is a Democrat with a team of Democrats working for him, but they registered him as a Republican to cause chaos and confusion during Alaska's August primary.
On Monday, Alaska's top elections officials delivered a stunning blow to the Democrat's plan, declaring that the 'random' Dan Sullivan is not eligible to be on the primary ballot this summer. The officials determined that his candidacy was "not filed in good faith" but instead "with the purpose of confusing or misleading the electorate."
Senator Sullivan responded to the failed sabotage attempt, saying of the Democrat decoy that he was "obviously in it to rig it, not in it to win it… I'm going to continue to do what I do, which is deliver for my state." He also warned that if the other Dan Sullivan sues to get on the ballot, "we're going to flood them with discovery requests."
The failed plot has brought relief to the national GOP apparatus, which had accused Dan J. Sullivan of attempting to deceive voters by appearing on the ballot with the same name and party affiliation as the incumbent. The GOP alleged that Dan J. Sullivan was working with an operative who previously backed a Democrat candidate to try to rig the Senate race.
Senator Sullivan's campaign manager celebrated the decision, saying, "Every Alaskan has the right to a free and fair election, free from deception and gamesmanship. We thank Lieutenant Governor [Nancy] Dahlstrom for upholding that right and for ensuring Alaskans can choose their next senator without a sham candidate whose primary purpose was to confuse Alaskan voters, treat Alaskans with contempt, and rig the election."
