Chuck Schumer's operation just got caught recruiting a sham candidate to steal Alaska's Senate seat from a Republican they can't beat on the issues.
The scheme was so brazen the fingerprints were sitting in a press release for anyone to find.
Now the NRSC has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint – and Alaska has opened its own state investigation.
Democrats Got Caught Running a Fake Dan Sullivan to Steal Alaska and Now the FEC Is Involved
A Democratic strategist's name is embedded in the metadata of a press release announcing a Republican Senate candidacy in Alaska.
The NRSC just filed a formal FEC complaint – and Alaska's lieutenant governor opened a state investigation the day before.
A sworn affidavit deadline expires this week, and someone is about to have a very bad day.
Democrats Recruited a Sham Candidate to Split the Alaska Senate Vote
A man named Daniel J. Sullivan – a former teacher from Petersburg with zero political history – filed to run for Senate against Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan on May 29.
He has no connection to the senator.
His campaign branding copied the incumbent's color scheme, typography, and even the Alaska North Star logo.
The press release announcing his candidacy was authored by Amber Lee – a Democratic strategist who previously backed Mary Peltola, the Democrat now mounting a well-funded challenge for Sullivan's seat.
Lee had told The Hill in January about Peltola's Senate campaign: "It's going to be a hard race, but I believe there's a real chance for her to win."
FEC donation records show the Petersburg Sullivan donated to Democratic candidates going back to 2010 – including $100 to Peltola in 2022 and $30 more in 2024.
The NRSC complaint, filed June 9, names both Sullivan and Lee – accusing them of working together on "a scheme to launch a U.S. Senate candidacy" in violation of federal law barring fraudulent misrepresentation in elections.
How Ranked Choice Voting Turns One Fake Candidate Into a Senate Majority Flip
This is not just a branding stunt.
Alaska uses a top-four nonpartisan primary – the four highest vote-getters advance to a ranked-choice general election in November.
If a confused voter picks the wrong Dan Sullivan in the primary, that vote is gone.
The latest Alaska Survey Research poll has Peltola leading Sullivan 49 to 42 – and under ranked-choice simulation, she crosses 50 percent in the second round.
Chuck Schumer recruited Peltola specifically because ranked-choice voting gives Democrats a path to win in red states when Republican votes get split.
Sen. Sullivan put it plainly on Fox News: "It's bulls—. Democrats don't care about fair elections."
Alaska is one of the thinnest margins standing between Republicans keeping the Senate majority and handing it back to Schumer.
The Amber Lee Connection Proves Democrats Planned This From the Start
Same-name ballot confusion has been used before.
A CBS Detroit report documented an independent candidate in Michigan running against a county commissioner with the same name – the incumbent called it deliberate vote-splitting, and the challenger was charged with election fraud.
What makes Alaska different is the scale – and the paper trail.
The metadata on the press release doesn't lie.
Amber Lee authored that document.
Lee was already on record publicly supporting Peltola's Senate campaign before the Petersburg Sullivan ever filed.
NRSC general counsel Blake Murphy wrote to Alaska election officials that the candidacy was designed "to mislead unwitting Alaska voters who intend to cast a ballot for incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan" – and warned the committee may pursue legal action to block it.
Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom – who oversees state elections – opened her own investigation June 8 and demanded a sworn affidavit from the Petersburg Sullivan by noon June 11, requiring him to answer whether he had "direct or indirect contact with another candidate for U.S. Senate or an agent of the Democratic Party."
That deadline is this week.
If he lies under oath, that's perjury.
If he tells the truth, the trail leads straight to Peltola's operation and directly into a federal investigation.
Democrats spent years screaming about election integrity while engineering a scheme to clone a Republican senator's identity on a ballot in Alaska.
The FEC complaint, the state investigation, and that metadata-stamped press release just handed Republicans everything they need to expose exactly who built this – and make them answer for it before a federal agency.
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**Sources:**
– National Republican Senatorial Committee, FEC Complaint Filing, June 9, 2026.
– "NRSC: Dan Sullivan running sham campaign against senator," *Washington Examiner*, June 9, 2026.
– "GOP fights to stop multiple Dan Sullivans appearing on Alaska ballot, calls candidacy a 'sham,'" Fox News, June 2, 2026.
– "State opens probe into Sen. Dan Sullivan's namesake challenger," *Anchorage Daily News*, June 8, 2026.
– "Ranked choice voting add wrinkle for GOP in Alaska's U.S. Senate race," *Washington Times*, February 16, 2026.
– "Poll shows Peltola leading Sullivan in Alaska Senate race," Alaska Survey Research, April 2026.
– "Election Fraud Charge Coming Against Same-Name Candidate," CBS Detroit.
