The Dan Sullivan saga in the Alaska Senate race is under investigation, sources say

State and federal prosecutors in Alaska are investigating whether the campaign for a U.S. Senate candidate who has the same name as the Republican incumbent could be part of a conspiracy to confuse voters, two people with knowledge of the investigations told NBC News.

Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher, announced his campaign in May and recently registered as a Republican. He has said he’s mounting a legitimate effort to unseat the other Sullivan, Dan S. Sullivan, who has been in office since 2015.

But Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Republicans have alleged that the newcomer launched the campaign in an attempt to confuse voters and that he’s working with the Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

Just this week, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Dan J. Sullivan can stay on the state’s August primary ballot. The state’s elections division had initially disqualified the challenger from the ballot, with Elections Director Carol Beecher alleging that the challenger filed to run “with a purpose to confuse or mislead” voters.

Now, NBC News has learned, the FBI, the Alaska attorney general and the U.S. attorney’s office in Alaska are all investigating whether two or more people conspired to create the Sullivan challenger’s campaign with the intention to confuse voters, hurt the incumbent and boost votes for Peltola.

It is possible that both the Sullivans and Peltola could all be on the November ballot, since the top four vote-getters in the Aug. 18 primary advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The general election contest is then decided by ranked-choice voting.

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Alaska’s Senate race will be key to the fight for Senate control in November’s midterm elections, with Democrats looking to net four seats to take control of the chamber. And Democrats have held up Peltola as a strong recruit, saying Alaska is a prime pickup opportunity, even though President Donald Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024.

One of the people familiar with the investigations said the Alaska attorney general’s office began its investigation into whether any state laws were violated before federal investigators began their probe. The federal investigation is looking for possible wire fraud or a conspiracy to deprive Alaska voters of a free and fair elections process, which could be a civil rights violation, the people said.

Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the Alaska attorney general’s office, declined to comment on whether such an investigation exists.

“The Department of Law generally will neither confirm or deny the existence of a criminal investigation,” Curtis said in a statement. “That said, the Alaska Attorney General’s Office is not an investigating agency. Any allegations of criminal conduct is referred to federal, state, or local law enforcement.”

The people familiar with the investigation said it wasn’t clear yet who could face potential charges in either state or federal investigations, or whether that might affect the upcoming election.

U.S. Attorney Michael Hyman was appointed by the Trump administration, and acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

In a statement, Harry Child, a spokesperson for Peltola, denied her campaign had anything to do with the rival Dan Sullivan.

“Our campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Mary is focused on lowering costs for Alaskans, and our campaign will be connecting with Alaskans across the state to ensure their voices are heard on Election Day,” Child told NBC News.

Sen. Sullivan’s campaign declined to comment, while the challenger Sullivan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan, the political newcomer, denied any coordination or contact with the Peltola campaign, the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic strategists.

Spokespeople with the U.S. attorney’s office in Alaska did not respond to requests for comment.