Daniel J. Sullivan — a former teacher who is currently at the center of a federal investigation concerning Alaska’s tightly-contested U.S. Senate race — left his remote hometown of Petersburg just days before a bombshell New York Times report alleging that Democratic Party nominee Mary Peltola’s team recruited him to run with the intention of confusing voters. Sullivan shares the same name as incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican.
One resident and former student told CBS News that she saw “decoy” Dan Sullivan on a flight to Anchorage on October 26. The flight was just two days before the New York Times report was released.
A friend described Sullivan and his wife as “world travelers,” though his current location remains unclear. Dozens of residents in the town of roughly 3,000, accessible only by air or sea, told CBS News they had not seen or received any campaign materials such as mailers, flyers, brochures, or signs since he announced his run last spring.
A CBS News crew on the ground found no visible signs of active campaigning, including outside his home near the main coastal highway. Sullivan, a retired elementary school teacher, taught music and fourth and fifth grade in the local district for nearly 20 years before retiring in 2021.
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Daniel J. Sullivan, the independent candidate running for Senate in Alaska whose name is almost identical to the Republican senator running for reelection, left his hometown of Petersburg earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News.
One resident and former student… pic.twitter.com/m0uDXEksib
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 30, 2026
The departure comes amid ongoing state and federal scrutiny of his presence on the Alaska U.S. Senate ballot. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation after the Times report, directing the Department of Public Safety to examine whether efforts to place Sullivan on the ballot violated state law and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice has pursued a criminal investigation for several weeks that includes subpoenas and document preservation requests related to the race. Subpoenas have reportedly been sent to the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola and to Sullivan himself.
The department has also filed a civil lawsuit seeking to prevent certification of the election results if incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses under circumstances that could be attributed to voter confusion over the two candidates with similar names. No charges have been filed against any individual or organization in connection with these probes as of this report.
Sullivan has maintained that he is a genuine candidate motivated by dissatisfaction with the incumbent’s record. He has denied coordination with the Peltola campaign.
State election officials initially removed him from the ballot in June after concluding his filing was not made in good faith and risked confusing voters, citing factors that included his name, a recent switch to Republican registration, campaign materials, and the use of a consultant with prior ties to Peltola. Both a superior court and the Alaska Supreme Court reversed that decision, allowing him to remain.
The New York Times reported on October 28 that people working with Peltola’s campaign and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee participated in efforts to recruit Sullivan and other potential candidates. The paper, citing interviews with roughly a dozen people, text messages, and documents prepared for a possible lawsuit, described an internal effort sometimes called a “ballot composition project” that sought to identify Alaskans named Dan Sullivan and encourage additional candidates to run.
One figure identified in the reporting was an Ohio-based operative who, according to sources, contacted Sullivan and others. A former Peltola campaign manager told the paper that Peltola was not directly involved in the recruitment but was “definitely aware.” She later attempted to retract her statements, though the Times noted that her account aligns with additional interviews and evidence gathered.
The Peltola campaign has denied recruiting any candidates, and Peltola has said she “knew nothing about” the second Sullivan and was not interested in tricking voters. Sullivan has also denied running at the campaign’s behest.
