Alaska Senate candidate Decoy Dan Sullivan missing on Election Day as Trump alleges criminal act
WASHINGTON — Daniel J.Sullivan, the independent Alaska Senate candidate with the same name as incumbent Republican Sen.
Daniel S.Sullivan, remained missing on Election Day as President Trump accused him of committing a “criminal act.”While serious candidates typically stump for votes in the final hours of the midterm election, the mysterious Sullivan was not holding campaign events — and was nowhere to be found.
“Decoy Dan,” a retired school teacher, was recruited to run by the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, the New York Times reported last week, prompting a Justice Department investigation and DOJ litigation to stall certification of the election results if Peltola wins.Sullivan left his small hometown of Petersburg last Monday, CBS News reported, with a former student spotting him on a flight to Anchorage.He did not respond to an email or text message from The Post on Tuesday.His voicemail played a lengthy Halloween-themed message.Alaska has ranked-choice voting, which could protract tabulations if there isn’t a clear winner.Although voters could in theory vote for both Sullivans, with the long-shot candidate’s votes being reallocated to the Republican through the ranked-choice process, GOP leaders are concerned about losing any votes with polls showing Peltola narrowly ahead or tied with the Republican.“It’s a total fraud.
It’s a fraud on the voters.And it’s a criminal act,” Trump said Tuesday morning in an interview with “Fox & Friends.”There are four candidates who will appear on the ballot.
A sample form shows that Sen.Sullivan is identified as the incumbent and a Republican; Peltola is identified as a Democrat; and the other Sullivan has no party label.In a further twist, the fourth candidate, drywall contractor Gerald Heikes, is identified as a Republican.Heikes told the Times that he was recruited “by a guy from the Midwest” who told him, “Hey, if you go and file to run for Senate, we’ll ...