An Alaska Republican voter began to panic after realizing he may have accidentally voted for “Decoy Dan” Sullivan instead of the incumbent GOP senator in the state’s closely watched Senate election.
Greg Martone said he could remember seeing only one candidate named Dan Sullivan when he cast his ballot Sunday, raising concerns that he may have selected the retired schoolteacher in the ranked-choice contest.
“I might just be having a brain freeze, but I don’t remember the second Dan Sullivan,” Martone told NewsNation.
“There is a slight possibility I voted for the wrong Dan Sullivan,” the voter said, placing his hand on his head.
“I’m hoping I’m just kind of getting paranoid,” he added with a nervous laugh.
“I’m hoping he [Sen. Sullivan] was on top,” Martone said as he tried to picture the ballot’s layout. It also lists Republican candidate Gerald Heikes and Democratic rival Mary Peltola.
Daniel J. Sullivan, who has been dubbed “Decoy Dan,” appears above incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan on the ballot.
The retired teacher’s name is clearly listed as Daniel rather than Dan, while the ballot also identifies Sen. Sullivan as the incumbent.
Republicans are increasingly concerned that “Decoy Dan” could draw votes away from Sen. Sullivan and potentially cost him the race.
A bombshell New York Times report claimed that aides working for Peltola had been instructed to look for candidates named Dan Sullivan to make the contest more complicated. The report intensified suspicions within the Trump administration that Democrats were attempting to rig the election.
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Alaska is among seven Senate seats classified as toss-ups entering the midterm cycle, with Democrats currently holding 47 seats.
Democrats must gain a net four seats to regain control of the Senate.
Peltola’s campaign has repeatedly rejected allegations that it played any role in recruiting a “Decoy Dan” candidate.
The contest remains extremely tight. Peltola holds a one-point lead over Sen. Sullivan in an average of polls compiled by RealClearPolitics, despite Alaska having backed President Trump by 13.1 percentage points.
Peltola won the primary with 49.5% of the vote, while incumbent Dan Sullivan received 41.4%. The remaining votes were divided among 14 other candidates.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last week seeking to prevent certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Sen. Sullivan loses. US District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the case, calling the government’s request “infeasible.”
The FBI has contacted donors to Daniel Sullivan as part of an investigation into possible deception.
President Trump, meanwhile, claimed that the “fake” Dan Sullivan had “gone missing.”
“HE HAS TOTALLY DISAPPEARED, GONE! NOBODY HAS BEEN ABLE TO FIND HIM,” Trump wrote angrily in a Truth Social post Tuesday.
“MAYBE HE HAS BEEN ‘KIDNAPPED’ BY THE CORRUPT DUMOCRAT LAWYERS??? THEY ARE SCARED STIFF OF BEING PROSECUTED FOR ELECTION FRAUD!!!”
Peltola says she’s “deeply offended” by the allegations, which she claimed are part of a “smear campaign.”
“I know I can beat Dan Sullivan,” she told supporters at a rally in Juneau Thursday.