FBI questions Petersburg donors in probe of Alaskan Senate race

Federal agents knocked on the doors of at least a dozen residents in Petersburg, Alaska, this week as they expanded a criminal investigation into a local candidate’s role in the state’s Senate race. The probe centers on Dan J. Sullivan, a former elementary school teacher who ran as a Republican against incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. The two men share the same first and last name, a detail that state election officials highlighted on the ballot to prevent voter confusion.

The investigation follows months of scrutiny over a tactic known as ballot stacking. This strategy involves recruiting lesser-known candidates to draw votes away from a leading opponent, a practice that has become more effective in Alaska due to the state’s open primary and ranked choice voting systems. The Trump administration is weighing criminal charges related to campaign finance violations. A federal lawsuit filed by the Justice Department to block the certification of election results was dismissed by a federal judge on Sunday, though the department has appealed the decision.

Sharon Hunter, a Petersburg resident, told reporters that FBI agents visited her home Saturday to interview her and her husband. The couple donated $1,000 to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign. Hunter described the visit as a waste of taxpayer money, noting that she considers the candidate a genuine contributor to the community. Anna Holmes and her husband, who gave $500, said agents questioned them Friday night about whether they felt deceived by the candidate and if they had intended to donate to the senator’s campaign instead.

Donors have contributed a total of $7,150 to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign. Most of these contributors live in Petersburg, a community of roughly 3,000 people known as Little Norway for its late 19th-century settlers. Retired fisherman Ed Wood said he wrote a $1,000 check to repay the Sullivan family for their support in a decade-long legal battle to protect a forested hillside above the town. Retired boat seller Charles Flint, who supports Democrat Mary Peltola, suggested that Dan J. Sullivan likely viewed himself as a spoiler rather than a legitimate contender for the seat.

Dan J. Sullivan has not been seen in town for weeks, and his home has been dark since the FBI visits began. He has not responded to recent attempts by the Associated Press to reach him. In June, he told the news agency that he entered the race on his own accord and had zero contact with the Peltola campaign. The Alaska Division of Elections initially tried to remove him from the primary ballot, claiming he did not file as a Republican in good faith. State courts later overturned that finding.

Democrat Mary Peltola, who is challenging Sen. Sullivan for the seat, denied any involvement in recruiting the decoy candidate. She stated at a rally in Anchorage last week that Alaskans are not in the business of tricking one another. Peltola has sought to distance herself from a New York Times report that linked a group supporting her to a Democratic operative involved in recruiting such candidates.

Local opinions in Petersburg are divided. Some residents, like bartender Amanda Ohmer, support the federal investigation. Ohmer, who works at the local Moose Lodge, called the tactic sleazy and noted that Dan J. Sullivan is known as a liberal who attended anti-Trump protests. At a Halloween party at a local dive bar, patrons wore costumes referencing the FBI and the election controversy, with one person wearing a placard that read Being a Registered Voter in Alaska.

About 60% of Alaska’s 600,000 registered voters identify as independents, one of the highest percentages in the country. The state has a history of using decoy candidates in tight races. In 2024, the Alaska Republican Party fought to keep an imprisoned felon with no state ties on the ballot for a U.S. House seat then held by Peltola. She lost that race.