A watchdog group has accused retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan, nicknamed “Decoy Dan,” of illegally colluding with a liberal organization to undermine the campaign of his namesake, Republican Alaska Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Americans for Public Trust (APT) filed a complaint Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging violations of federal election law.
The complaint centers on Democratic strategist Amber Lee, who reportedly worked for Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign while simultaneously serving on the board of the left-leaning 907 Initiative. The 907 Initiative has spent approximately $1.5 million on advertisements critical of Sen. Sullivan.
"It is absolutely a violation of federal election law for someone to wear two hats," Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, stated. "You can’t both work for the campaign and work for the outside group that’s running millions of dollars in advertisements that’s benefiting the campaign that you’re working for."
APT alleges that about $575,000 of the 907 Initiative’s spending against Sen. Sullivan occurred in the 90 days leading up to the primary election. Dan J. Sullivan entered the race on May 29, just one day after the 907 Initiative launched an ad criticizing Sen. Sullivan. According to the complaint, Amber Lee Strategies owed Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign $4,380.41.
"Amber Lee Strategies’ work for the Daniel J. Sullivan campaign — and her concurrent leadership position as a board member of 907 Initiative whilst it spent significant sums of money on ads targeting her client’s primary opponent — is the third and final prong to establish coordination," APT wrote in its complaint. The group further stated that Lee helped Dan J. Sullivan file his candidacy and "helped author some of Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign materials" while her 907 Initiative was reserving ad time to attack his opponent.
Lee’s involvement with Dan J. Sullivan was previously reported by The New York Times, though he reportedly told the outlet that their professional relationship had ended. A federal probe is also reportedly underway to investigate whether Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign was part of a conspiracy to confuse voters by fielding a candidate with a similar name to aid Democrat Mary Peltola.
Dan J. Sullivan faced accusations of running a disingenuous campaign aimed at confusing voters due to his name's similarity to the incumbent senator's. He registered as a Republican shortly before filing his candidacy, a move that Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher initially cited in an attempt to remove him from the ballot, concluding his campaign was acting in bad faith to trick GOP voters. The Alaska courts have since allowed him to remain on the ballot, and he advanced to the general election.
Beecher noted that Dan J. Sullivan’s initial campaign website used a color scheme similar to Sen. Sullivan’s and that he had used the senator’s initial in a private email, though he later claimed to have filed paperwork with the correct initial.
Aubrey Wieber, executive director of the 907 Initiative, denied the allegations, stating, "The 907 Initiative has never employed or paid Amber Lee. Amber Lee is a board member of 907 Initiative. The fact that Americans for Public Trust can’t decipher the difference between those two tells you all you need to know.” Wieber added, “907 Initiative had no involvement with any work between Dan J. Sullivan and Amber Lee. I found out about the connection by reading the news."
Dan J. Sullivan has described himself as a moderate Republican, having previously voted Democratic in presidential elections, participated in protests, and supported Peltola in past campaigns. Sen. Dan Sullivan faces a competitive reelection bid against Peltola. In the jungle primary, Peltola received 49.5% of the vote, compared to Sen. Sullivan’s 41.4%. Current polling aggregate shows Peltola leading Sen. Sullivan by 2 percentage points.
Americans for Public Trust is urging the FEC to investigate the alleged illegal coordination between Dan J. Sullivan and the 907 Initiative through Lee.