Conspiracy deepens over Decoy Dan’s, Democrat operatives’ campaign trickery: the Schumer connection

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 1, 2026 – The network surrounding “Decoy Dan” Sullivan appears to be larger than previously known, according to documents filed with the Alaska Supreme Court, with newly surfaced evidence showing that another Anchorage political figure personally delivered Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidate paperwork to the Division of Elections in Anchorage.

Buried deep inside the Joint Excerpt of Record filed with the Alaska Supreme Court is a Division of Elections processing checklist containing a handwritten notation that states:

“Rep Alan Harris dropped off on behalf of Daniel J. Sullivan.” There is no Rep. Alan Harris in Alaska, but it appears the Election clerk intended this to mean he was a representative for Decoy Dan.

Harris’ role had not previously been publicly disclosed.

Until now, most public attention surrounding the campaign had focused on Democratic political consultant Amber Lee, whose name appeared in the metadata of the original press release announcing Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy. Lee authored that release, and Lee has publicly supported Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and has previously worked on Peltola campaigns.

Decoy Dan Sullivan explained that away by saying he just needed some professional help with the launch of his campaign.

The newly surfaced court exhibit suggests Lee was not the only person involved in launching the candidacy and it was not just handling the publicity for Decoy Dan.

Public records reviewed by The Alaska Story show Harris shares the same Anchorage business address — 2136 Sorbus Way — with Amber Lee Strategies.

State business records list Harris as owner of Allstar Moving, using that same Sorbus Way address. Alaska voter records show Harris is registered as undeclared, while Amber Lee is registered nonpartisan, with both using that same mailing address.

Photos posted publicly on social media also show Harris and Lee traveling together, including one photograph from an airline flight captioned “Headed to Ireland!” and another showing the pair attending a formal event together.

Decoy Dan files appeal to regain place on ballot as his Democrat strategist flees the country

Neither circumstance establishes any legal relationship, but together they suggest Harris and Lee are close personal associates.

The newly identified connection adds another layer to a campaign already surrounded by controversy.

Daniel J. Sullivan, the Petersburg resident now commonly referred to as “Decoy Dan,” successfully appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court after the Division of Elections attempted to keep him off the ballot.

The court ruled Monday that Sullivan must appear on the August primary ballot alongside incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.

The sample ballot released this week lists one candidate simply as Dan Sullivan, identified as the incumbent, while the challenger appears as Daniel J. Sullivan without a party designation.

Questions surrounding the origins of the campaign have persisted since filing day.

When Daniel J. Sullivan entered the race, the campaign announcement was distributed through Amber Lee Strategies. Metadata later examined by the Daily Caller News Foundation identified Lee as the author of the press release.

Lee previously ran as a Democrat for the Alaska House in 2018 and has publicly supported Mary Peltola’s congressional campaigns. She also has worked as a Democratic political consultant.

The newly discovered filing record places Harris physically at the Division of Elections office delivering Sullivan’s candidacy paperwork on June 1.

Harris has also appeared publicly in political advertising. One campaign advertisement sponsored by Majority Forward, a political nonprofit aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s political operation, featured Harris discussing federal policy and attacking Sen. Dan Sullivan, one of Schumer’s big targets for this race. Schumer is the one who convinced Mary Peltola to run for Senate.

While Harris is not registered as a Democrat, the advertisement demonstrates his participation in messaging backed by Schumer.

You can view the ad in which Alan Harris attacks Sen. Dan Sullivan at this link.

While these facts, standing alone, don’t necessarily establish coordination between Peltola’s Senate campaign and Decoy Dan Sullivan’s candidacy, they raise questions and are part of a growing list of documented connections that may indicate there was a conspiracy to confuse voters. If so, that could be prosecuted as a federal crime.

S-19935 Joint Excerpt of Record 2

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has alleged that Sullivan’s candidacy was designed to siphon votes from incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan by exploiting the nearly identical names under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.

“Based on the most recent public records, Sham Candidate Sullivan is not registered as affiliated with the Republican Party as his Declaration of Candidacy apparently states. As of the date of this letter, the Alaska Division of Elections ‘My Voter Portal’ indicates that Sham Candidate Sullivan’s party affiliation is ‘undeclared.’ ¹⁷ As you know, the State of Alaska Voter Registration Application provides voters with an optional field to declare a political affiliation. The form is signed under penalty of perjury. The Registrar Handbook published by the Division of Elections makes clear that ‘ [a]pplicants who … do not indicate a political affiliation on their registration application will be registered as undeclared.’ ¹⁸ There is no available evidence on the public record that Sham Candidate Sullivan has filed an updated Voter Registration Application listing his political affiliation as ‘ Republican.’ To the contrary, the available evidence suggests that the most recent Voter Registration Form that Sham Candidate Sullivan signed either included a blank party affiliation field or listed his affiliation as ‘undeclared,'” wrote Tim Scott of the NRSC.

“The Alaska law governing the declaration of candidacy makes clear that the declaration must state ‘the political party or political group with which the candidate is registered as affiliated, or whether the candidate would prefer a nonpartisan or undeclared designation placed after the candidate’s name on the ballot.’¹⁹ The law simply does not allow a candidate to affiliate with a political party on the basis of a declaration of candidacy. Additionally, while the regulations permit candidates who have already filed a declaration of candidacy to change political affiliation, that procedure is available only to candidates who have already filed a proper declaration of candidacy.²⁰ Therefore, Sham Candidate Sullivan’s Declaration of Candidacy is defective and must not be accepted,” Scott wrote. The court dismissed these facts as irrelevant.

A Wall Street Journal opinion column published this week went further, arguing federal authorities should examine whether the campaign amounts to an conspiracy to deprive voters of an honest election, raising the possibility of federal civil-rights implications if intentional voter deception could be proven.

Wall Street Journal writers say ‘Decoy Dan’ case may draw federal civil rights investigation

One more bread crumb emerged this week. Protesters who stood in front of the Division of Elections in Juneau demanding that Decoy Dan be placed on the ballot have been found to have given campaign donations to Mary Peltola: