‘Decoy Dan’ scam exposes much wider network of political operatives and ‘nonprofit’ money in Alaska

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Sept. 9, 2026 — The federal election complaint surrounding Alaska US Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan (Decoy Dan) may be only the tip of the iceberg — a small, visible controversy peeking above a much larger network of political consultants, nonprofit organizations and national funding operations working to shape Alaska politics.

Decoy Dan, the retired Petersburg teacher who shares nearly the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, finished third in Alaska’s primary with about 2.5% of the vote. That is enough under the bizarre ranked-choice voting system that Alaska has to place him on the final-four ballot for November. He is staying in the race, placing two Dan Sullivans on Alaska’s general election ballot.

But a new report from the Alaska Influence Pipeline argues that the candidate’s diminutive share of the vote has obscured the more consequential story: the web of political operatives and nonprofit organizations operating around the race.

The Alaska Influence Pipeline is a project of the conservative American Accountability Foundation, which has filed separate complaints with the Internal Revenue Service and the Alaska Department of Law concerning nonprofit activity in Alaska.

The latest controversy centers on Amber Lee, a political consultant who helped Decoy Dan J. Sullivan establish his campaign while she was also serving as a director and secretary of the 907 Initiative, an Anchorage-based 501(c)(4) organization that has spent heavily on advertising critical of the incumbent senator.

Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday alleging that the overlapping roles resulted in illegal coordination between the candidate and 907 Initiative. The complaint argues that some of the organization’s expenditures should therefore be treated as prohibited, excessive and unreported contributions to the candidate.

Breaking: New FEC complaint alleges ‘Decoy Dan’ campaign coordinated with liberal 907 Initiative

The 907 Initiative has spent approximately $1.5 million on advertising targeting Sen. Sullivan, including about $575,000 during the final 90 days of the primary campaign.

The 907 Initiative denied wrongdoing. Executive Director Aubrey Wieber told the New York Post that Lee was an unpaid board member who did not work for the organization, did not receive money from it and did not discuss Dan J. Sullivan or the Senate campaign with the group.

The Americans for Public Trust complaint follows three earlier FEC complaints filed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee concerning the Petersburg candidate and Lee’s work for him. Those complaints have alleged fraudulent misrepresentation, an excessive unreported in-kind contribution and failure to file required federal campaign documents on time. None has resulted in a final FEC finding.

The Alaska Influence Pipeline report, titled “The Consultants in the Middle of Alaska’s Two Dan Sullivans,” traces Lee’s political relationships beyond the candidate and the 907 Initiative.

Lee wrote Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign-launch announcement, assisted with his logo and website and was identified by him as a political adviser. She has also worked with longtime Alaska political strategist Jim Lottsfeldt, whose firm appears on Lee’s publicly posted client list.

Lottsfeldt has been involved in political campaigns for decades. In 2014, however, he founded and ran Put Alaska First, a super PAC created to help then-Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and oppose Republican challenger Dan S. Sullivan.

According to federal election records cited in the report, Put Alaska First raised more than $10.5 million during that election cycle. Approximately 86% came from Senate Majority PAC, then associated with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Alaska committee spent more than $8.2 million opposing Sullivan, who nevertheless won the election.

Twelve years later, Lottsfeldt was reportedly treasurer of Vote Alaska Before Party, a single-candidate super PAC supporting Mary Peltola. The Alaska Influence Pipeline report says the committee paid Lottsfeldt Strategies $23,000 in February 2025, shortly before terminating. Lee was reportedly working with Lottsfeldt Strategies during that period.

Gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins also has a past connection to the Decoy Dan Sullivan family. Dan J. Sullivan’s son, Noah Sullivan, interned in Kreiss-Tomkins’ legislative office and later worked on one of his reelection campaigns. Because Kreiss-Tomkins represented Southeast Alaska for a decade, the Pipeline report acknowledges that the connection could be explained by geography rather than political planning.

Lee’s other work provides a link to the national nonprofit infrastructure now drawing congressional scrutiny.

Lee has served as Alaska director for Protect Our Care, a health care advocacy campaign that has organized events criticizing both Sen. Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich. Protect Our Care says its 501(c)(4) advocacy operation is fiscally sponsored by the Sixteen Thirty Fund, while its educational arm is sponsored by the New Venture Fund.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund were among the major nonprofit funds serviced by Arabella Advisors. Arabella ended its Arabella operations in 2025, when much of its fiscal-sponsorship business moved to Sunflower Services, a public-benefit corporation financed by the funds Arabella had previously served. It’s one and the same but with a new name.

The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Arabella and Sunflower Services were involved in efforts to evade campaign-finance disclosure requirements. The committee’s investigation focuses partly on the Chorus influencer program and allegations that paid online personalities promoted Democratic messages without adequate public disclosure. No final congressional finding has been issued.

The New Venture Fund also provides the fiscal sponsorship for SalmonState and the Alaska Venture Fund, two organizations active in Alaska resource, environmental and public-policy debates.

Alaska Venture Fund, SalmonState’s shady mother ship is an Arabella creation

In June, the American Accountability Foundation asked the IRS to investigate whether those projects were engaging in political advocacy beyond what is permitted under the New Venture Fund’s 501(c)(3) charitable status.

AAF has also asked the Alaska Department of Law to examine whether the projects improperly solicited money using organizational names that are not separately registered legal entities in Alaska. Those filings are complaints, not findings of wrongdoing.

Suzanne Downing: Watchdog calls on IRS to investigate New Venture Fund and SalmonState

SalmonState openly identifies itself as a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund. It describes fiscal sponsorship as a commonly used nonprofit arrangement providing accounting, human resources and compliance services, while saying its programs, fundraising and staff are directed by Alaskans.

Protecting salmon or driving politics? SalmonState unmasked

The Alaska Influence Pipeline’s broader point is that the political and nonprofit worlds cannot always be understood by looking at one campaign or one organization at a time. Consultants move among candidates, super PACs, advocacy campaigns and fiscally sponsored projects, while money may be collected and reported through national organizations far from Alaska.

The report documents a series of personnel and organizational overlaps linking the Senate controversy to a larger political infrastructure already facing complaints and congressional scrutiny.

Whatever federal investigators or the FEC ultimately conclude about “Decoy Dan,” the larger disclosure question will remain: When organizations spend millions attempting to influence Alaskans, how clearly can voters identify who controls them, who funds them and where one political operation ends and another begins?