By SUZANNE DOWNING
June 26, 2026 – The National Republican Senatorial Committee has filed yet another complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Democratic activist “Decoy Dan” Daniel James Sullivan Jr., arguing that the Petersburg candidate violated federal campaign finance law by failing to register his US Senate campaign with the FEC after exceeding the legal fundraising and spending threshold.
The latest complaint alleges Decoy Dan Sullivan spent more than $5,000 on his campaign but failed to file the required Statement of Candidacy within 15 days, a filing deadline the NRSC says expired on June 12. Under federal law, candidates for federal office who raise or spend more than $5,000 are generally required to register with the FEC and begin filing campaign finance reports.
Decoy Dan recently lawyered up and filed an appeal of the Alaska Division of Elections ruling that he is ineligible to appear on the Aug. 18 primary ballot as a candidate for US Senate. It’s apparent to most observers that he filed in order to confuse voters and help Mary Peltola win.
The complaint is the third federal action the NRSC has taken against Sullivan’s candidacy. Earlier this month, the committee filed complaints alleging illegal coordination and campaign finance violations, while also urging Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and the Alaska Division of Elections to remove Sullivan from the ballot.
“Fraud Dan Sullivan’s disgusting contempt for Alaskans and complete disregard of the law is appalling,” NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement announcing the complaint. “Mary Peltola and her Democrat cronies want to rig this election because they can’t beat Dan S. Sullivan on his Alaska First record.”
The Federal Election Commission has not announced whether it will open an investigation.
The filing comes as Decoy Dan Sullivan made a legal challenge in Alaska Superior Court after the Alaska Division of Elections determined he was not eligible to appear on the Republican primary ballot.
As The Alaska Story has previously reported, the Division concluded there was substantial evidence Sullivan sought to confuse voters by adopting the same name as incumbent US Sen. Dan Sullivan shortly before filing as a Republican candidate. State election officials found that the candidacy violated Alaska regulations prohibiting candidates from filing under names intended to mislead or confuse voters. He tried to file using Sen. Dan Sullivan’s middle initial.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews heard oral arguments Thursday in Sullivan’s appeal. A ruling is expected Friday, with either side likely to seek expedited review by the Alaska Supreme Court if they do not prevail.
The NRSC’s latest complaint brings up prior allegations about Sullivan’s past donations to Democratic candidates, including former Rep. Mary Peltola, his campaign announcement prepared by Democratic strategist Amber Lee, and his father’s history of voting in Democratic primaries, which the NRSC says contradicts Sullivan’s earlier claim that his father was a lifelong Republican.
The committee also notes that Amber Lee’s consulting firm has worked for Democratic organizations and political committees, including a political action committee supporting Peltola, and highlights that Peltola visited Petersburg just days before Sullivan announced his Senate campaign. As for Lee, she fled the country this week.
The NRSC argues the circumstances suggest a coordinated effort to confuse Republican voters, although no public evidence has established such coordination.
Criticism of Sullivan’s candidacy has not come solely from Republicans. Ranked-choice voting advocate and prominent Alaska election attorney Scott Kendall previously described the campaign as “pathetic,” saying it represented “politics at its worst—purposefully trying to confuse voters into wasting their ballot.”
Whether the FEC ultimately pursues enforcement action remains to be seen. Federal investigations often take months or longer to resolve, meaning any campaign finance case would likely outlast the immediate dispute over whether Sullivan’s name appears on Alaska’s 2026 US Senate ballot.
6 thoughts on “NRSC files new FEC complaint against ‘Decoy Dan,’ alleges federal campaign law violations”
This lunatic, fraud Daniel Sullivan has sullied his reputation and is putting his entire family on display. A sacrificial lamb for the Marxists. A mentally ill old man running around loose in Petersburg.
You had to know that the money side of this was coming. The lying part is soon to follow, almost as soon as they get him to speak or write while under oath. And his Democrat Pied Pipers are already feeding him to the sharks from the safety of as much distance as they can muster. Amber Lee fled to Ireland as soon as the decoy started his trip through the courts. This is a sad testament to just how desperate and corrupt people can be.
Ok, then simply differentiate the Sullivans on the ballot like this….
Fill in the oval for your desired candidate
0 Dan Sullivan (Senator)
0 Daniel J. Sullivan (Decoy)
Daniel J Sullivan=J for Joker. Daniel S Sullivan =S for Senator
Peltola is not the puppeteer. The real puppeteers are the DNC, Chuck Schumer, Senate Democrat leadership, Soros dark money. The objective is to put the US Senate into Democrats hands so they can convict Trump if he gets impeached again by maddog Democrats in the US House. THAT is the objective. Removal of Donald Trump, because bullets, prior impeachments, phoney federal and state prosecutions, phoney civil suits, and a lying media cannot do the job.
Forgot to mark my sample ballot!
Fill in the oval for your desired candidate
⚫️ Dan Sullivan (Senator)
🕡 Daniel J. Sullivan (Decoy)