By SUZANNE DOWNING
May 31, 2026 – The controversy surrounding Petersburg candidate Dan Sullivan took another turn this week after records showed he has changed his candidate filing to Republican, creating an even greater challenge for voters attempting to distinguish him from Alaska’s incumbent US senator, Republican Dan Sullivan. “Decoy Dan” is not a registered Republican but is an “Undeclared.”
The campaign filing change came to light after questions emerged about the timing and origins of the Petersburg Sullivan’s campaign, which was launched shortly after former Congresswoman Mary Peltola visited Petersburg and was promoted through a press release whose metadata identified Anchorage Democratic political strategist Amber Lee as the author.
The development is likely to intensify criticism from those who argue the candidacy appears designed to create confusion among voters in Alaska’s open primary and ranked-choice voting system.
Initially, voters could at least distinguish between the two candidates by party affiliation. One was a Republican incumbent serving in the U.S. Senate. The other was a Democrat from Petersburg who became undeclared, and entered the race under the same name, changing his party registration at the last minute to Republican.
Now that distinction may disappear. Voters will be confronted with two candidates named Dan Sullivan who both appear as Republicans.
That possibility exposes a vulnerability in Alaska’s election system. There is nothing in law that stops such shenanigans.
The Decoy Dan is the same one who signed the Recall Dunleavy petition in 2019, when Democrats attempted to recall the newly elected Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
In a curious twist, Sullivan’s last opponent was Al Gross, a former Petersburg medical doctor who was an “undeclared” candidate but who had the wholehearted backing of the Alaska Democratic Party when he challenged Sen. Sullivan in 2020.
The controversy has already attracted national attention.
Fox News recently highlighted the unusual situation with the headline, “Dan Sullivan vs. Dan Sullivan: GOP blasts clone candidate as lookalike enters Alaska Senate race.”
“”Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer know they can’t beat Senator Dan Sullivan on his record, so they’re resorting to deceitful political maneuvers that attempt to trick Alaskans and buy a seat,” said the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Candidate-name confusion has long been a concern in elections across the country, but Alaska’s ranked-choice voting and open-primary system may amplify the effect because multiple candidates advance from the primary and voters are asked to rank candidates in the general election. This will require voters to conduct extensive research simply to determine which candidate is the sitting US senator and which is the newcomer-imposter.
Questions remain unanswered regarding the Petersburg candidate’s campaign operation, funding sources, and political support network.
13 thoughts on “Twisted: Decoy Dan changed his official candidate filing to ‘Republican’”
The faux Republican Sullivan apparently has zero scruples, ethics, or morals. He is a shameless puppet fool. Very sad and I pray the leftists will be sorely disappointed that voters just are not as stupid as they hope.
He’s just an old drunk from Petersburg.
His only claim to 10 minutes of fame is that he was named by his parents, “Dan Sullivan.” Otherwise, a complete NOBODY.
The Supreme Court recently refused to intervene in an Ohio case where a well known Democrat attempted to change his party affiliation to run as a Republican with the sole purpose of trying to primary out actual Republicans. Samuel Ronan, the Democrat in question, was once a candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee.
This is a nationwide problem, where certain people have absolutely no qualms with voter disenfranchisement and/or directly lying about their intentions. Given the leftists ideology where the ends justify the means and shame isn’t an issue, expect more of this until voters make those who take part in this nonsense pay the price.
The Petersburg Pr*ck.
The fake Dan Sullivan is easy to identify. He’s the really dumb looking one from Petersburg who looks like he’s coming off a night of drinking. Old, wrinkled up and worn out looking.
I tried to beat Dan too, in 2020, but it was a straight up contest, not one designed by trickery. I’m a doctor. The Petersburg Dan Sullivan is a bum. In order to disassociate myself from the Petersburg bum, I’m going to send US Senator Dan Sullivan, incumbent, a nice fat check.
Gross
Scumbag. Time for a lawsuit. There has to be a way for voters to be able to distinguish them.
“incumbent.”
Drill that word into their brains. That word appears on the ballot.
Ha! This is such a Republican-like move. Womp womp.
They care so little about hiding their lust for power, they openly cheat.
Dark triad traits galore on the Godless left.
How so Mr. Singh? (I gotta hear this gas lighting line of…. )
Reminds me of Mark Begich and Vic Vickers…
How much would it cost to pay for 100 people to change their names to Mary Petola and file for the US Senate? Only one way to find out.
Special thanks to Amber Lee for proving that democrats can’t win an honest election; they can only win through deceit and cheating. This illustrates perfectly why they fight so hard to keep the RCV shell game in place.