The Aporia · Alaska Sen. Sullivan warns alleged ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme is working: ‘I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery’

Alaska Sen. Sullivan warns alleged ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme is working: ‘I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery’

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King, R. (2026, November 1). Alaska Sen. Sullivan warns alleged ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme is working: ‘I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/01/us-news/alaska-sen-sullivan-warns-alleged-decoy-dan-scheme-is-working/

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Quick Summary

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan accused Democratic candidate Alena Peltola's team of recruiting a decoy Republican candidate, Dan J. Sullivan, in an attempt to manipulate voter preferences. This strategy, according to Sullivan, is having the desired effect and could cost him votes in Tuesday’s election. The New York Times revealed that former campaign manager Elisa Rios confirmed Peltola was aware of this plan, despite denials from both camps. The Justice Department is investigating potential legal violations related to the scheme, while some Republicans have raised doubts about accepting the election results if Peltola wins; however, Sullivan stated he will accept the outcome regardless.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of November 1, 2026, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan accused his Democratic opponent Mary Peltola of lying about her campaign's involvement in recruiting a candidate named Dan J. Sullivan, who shares the same name as the incumbent but is not actively campaigning for the seat. According to an October 28 report by The New York Times, Peltola’s team and senior officials from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) were involved in a secret effort to recruit spoiler candidates against Sullivan, including a candidate who shares his name. This has led Trump to demand Alaska change its ballot due to claims that Democrats illegally recruited Dan J. Sullivan onto the ballot to confuse voters, potentially affecting control of the Senate.

The controversy intensified with Sullivan warning on November 1st during an interview with CNN’s "State of the Union" that he might lose votes due to this alleged scheme. Peltola’s campaign maintains its innocence and disputes these claims, leading to a back-and-forth between both sides over who is responsible for the confusion among voters regarding Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy.

Written for “Alaska Dan Sullivan Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 77 other(s) covering the same event.

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14%

3 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Who wrote this

Ryan King

111 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 “The returns, you can’t tell how they’re going to vote, but you can tell by our models, would they vote for us or not — likely,” Rogers told reporters Saturday.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers says he’s way ahead of Dem Abdul El-Sayed in early votes

🔮 But despite that and other GOP honchos equivocating on whether they will accept the results on Tuesday, Sen. Sullivan made it clear that he will not fight the outcome, however unfair it might be.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Alaska Sen. Sullivan warns alleged ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme is working: ‘I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery’

🔮 “I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto,” the president told The Post’s Miranda Devine on her “Pod Force One” podcase in an episode that will drop Monday.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · President Trump reveals how he’ll still be able to get things done if Dems take over after midterms

🔮 On Election Day, many voters across the country will be forced to decide whether to elect ethically and criminally challenged candidates as they juggle their political and moral priorities.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Midterm voters forced to choose between alleged adulterers, abusers, criminals and other ethically challenged pols

🔮 The Justice Department has already filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking certification of the election if Sen. Sullivan loses, complaining that his defeat may be unfair in light of “Decoy Dan” being in the race.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Dem Mary Peltola doesn’t fully deny involvement in ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme to confuse Alaska voters

🔮 “Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone — all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case,” the 44th president posted on X. “Think about that.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Obama claims probe into Ilhan Omar ‘sham marriage’ is ‘appalling’ — but was actually started under his admin

🔮 “We will hold the judge, Ana C. Reyes, fully responsible for anybody who is hurt, or killed, on this very dangerous, dilapidated, and unsightly Golf Course,” the president continued.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Trump vows to hold DC judge accountable for deaths on ‘very dangerous’ East Potomac golf course

🔮 “The establishment did not want him to be out there mobilizing people who had never voted before, just for change,” former Waterville Mayor Karen Heck lamented to The Post about Platner at a Jackson town hall event on Monday “It’s another example of innuendo taking somebody down who was popular,” she added.

2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Alleged rapist Graham Platner still has plenty of backers in Maine — who claim Dem establishment did him dirty

🔮 Top campaign aides for Alaska Senate hopeful Mary Peltola were instructed to search for people named Dan Sullivan they could recruit for the contest, and she was “definitely aware,” a bombshell report revealed.

2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Mary Peltola ‘definitely aware’ Dems searched for another Dan Sullivan to confuse voters in Alaska race: bombshell report

🔮 “It’s innumerate and morally obtuse and if anything remotely like it was aimed at Muslims [Uygur] and his ilk would (defensibly) be outraged.

2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Pro-Abdul El-Sayed ad sparks fury with claim Israel to blame for high grocery prices: ‘Case study in antisemitism’

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2026-11-01 · New York Post

President Trump reveals how he’ll still be able to get things done if Dems take over after midterms

2026-11-01 · New York Post

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2026-10-30 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 111 articles by Ryan King →

Claims (21 extracted, 3 hedged)

“Their first order of business, like I said, is, ‘How can we trick people in Alaska so they can throw the vote in a way that’s certainly deceitful, if not illegal, towards Peltola?'” the Republican senator vented to CNN’s “State of the Union.” asserted

senator → say → Union

“By the way, their scheme is working,” he said. asserted

he → work → way

“They got the decoy guy on the ballot. asserted

They → get → ballot

I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery.” asserted

I → ’m → trickery

Peltola, a former congresswoman, has been slammed by bombshell revelations from the New York Times that her allies worked to recruit retired public-school teacher Dan J. Sullivan, now known as “Decoy Dan,” to run for the Senate seat, too. asserted

allies → slam → seat

Although she has denied involvement, the outlet quoted her former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who claimed Peltola was “definitely aware.” asserted

Peltola → deny → manager

Rios had been pushed out of the campaign during an August reshuffling, along with other top staff. asserted

Rios → push → staff

“Decoy Dan” is registered as a Republican, despite voting Democrat in recent presidential election cycles and reportedly having a magnet of far-left revolutionary Che Guevara on his refrigerator. uncertain

Dan → register → refrigerator

For months, both “Decoy Dan” and Peltola’s camp had denied a connection between her team and his decision to run, but the outlet also found other staffers on her old campaign operation and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and text messages to identify a connection. asserted

outlet → deny → connection

A Dem operative named Jerid Kurtz had reportedly searched for another Dan Sullivan to recruit for the election. uncertain

operative → name → election

“This is treating the people of my state with utter disrespect and disdain,” Sen. Sullivan told CNN. asserted

Sullivan → treat → CNN

“And I don’t think it’s worthy of a US senator or a US Senate candidate.” asserted

it → think → senator

The Justice Department has been ramping up its probe into whether any laws were broken with the presence of “Decoy Dan” on the Alaska ballot. asserted

laws → ramp → ballot

The DOJ also sued to stop certification of the election if Sen. Sullivan loses. asserted

Sullivan → sue → election

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said Sunday that it’s possible Peltola won’t be seated if she wins the Senate race because of the controversy. asserted

she → say → controversy

But despite that and other GOP honchos equivocating on whether they will accept the results on Tuesday, Sen. Sullivan made it clear that he will not fight the outcome, however unfair it might be. uncertain

it → equivocate → outcome

“I’m going to accept the election results,” he replied. asserted

he → go → results

“Don’t let this election be stolen,” he later added, addressing Alaskan voters before Tuesday’s vote. asserted

he → let → vote

Peltola currently has a 2 percentage-point edge over Sen. Sullivan in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls. asserted

Peltola → have → polls

Alaska has a unique election system where the top four candidates appear on the general election ballot and are decided through ranked-choice voting. asserted

candidates → have → voting

Peltola’s campaign did not respond to a Post request for comment. asserted

campaign → respond → comment

Alaska Sen. Sullivan warns alleged ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme is working: ‘I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery’

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Claims (21 extracted, 3 hedged)