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Super PAC propping up ‘Decoy Dan’ Sullivan in Alaska exposed for getting Dem donor cash

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Cite

King, R. (2026, October 19). Super PAC propping up ‘Decoy Dan’ Sullivan in Alaska exposed for getting Dem donor cash. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/19/us-news/super-pac-propping-up-decoy-dan-sullivan-in-alaska-exposed-for-getting-dem-donor-cash/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-19 · by Ryan King

Quick Summary

A super PAC called Right for Alaska has spent nearly $1.15 million supporting Dan J. Sullivan, a Republican candidate in Alaska’s Senate race, with funds partly from progressive donors. The PAC received approximately $990,000 from the Sixteen Thirty Fund and another $1.8 million from Liberty Force Action Fund, which does not disclose its donors. Republicans suspect this is part of a Democratic strategy to confuse voters and potentially influence the close race between incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan (R) and Democrat Mary Peltola. The disclosure raises questions about campaign finance laws and voter confusion tactics in Alaska's upcoming election on November 3.
Written by AI on 2026-10-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A super PAC supporting Dan J. Sullivan, dubbed "Decoy Dan," in Alaska's Senate race has been revealed to receive funding from progressive donors. New financial disclosures show that Right For Alaska spent nearly $1.15 million supporting Sullivan and received about $990,000 from the left-wing Sixteen Thirty Fund. Additionally, Right for Alaska got $1.8 million from a dark money 501(c)(4) group called Liberty Force Action Fund. Republicans have long accused Sullivan of being a Democratic plant to confuse voters in a close race against Senator Dan S. Sullivan (R-Alaska) and former Representative Mary Peltola (D-Alaska). These claims are the basis for FEC complaints and legal actions.

Written for “Super PAC Funding Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Super PAC Funding Controversy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A broadly discusses Principled Patriots PAC backing third-party candidates across multiple states, while Article B focuses specifically on Dan J. Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 16 of 66 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss related issues in the same election, but Article A focuses on the funding of a super PAC supporting Decoy Dan Sullivan, while Article B reports on the DOJ's lawsuit to delay certification due to confusion between two candidates named Dan Sullivan.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
2 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16054 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

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.
🔮 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.
🔮 “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.
🔮 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.
🔮 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.
🔮 “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.
🔮 “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.
🔮 “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.
🔮 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.
🔮 “It’s innumerate and morally obtuse and if anything remotely like it was aimed at Muslims [Uygur] and his ilk would (defensibly) be outraged.
Also by Ryan King
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 111 articles by Ryan King →

Topics

Alaska Republican Right for Alaska WASHINGTON the Liberty Force Action Fund

Subjects

Alaska GPE · 5× Dan J. Sullivan PERSON · 3× Right for Alaska ORG · 3× Sullivan PERSON · 3× Datwyler ORG · 2× Decoy Dan PERSON · 2× Peltola PERSON · 2× Republican NORP · 2× the Liberty Force Action Fund ORG · 2× WASHINGTON GPE · 1×

Narrative

In August, the New York Times reported that Sullivan — who describes himself as a moderate Republican — took part in anti-Trump “No Kings” protests, supported Peltola in both her congressional bids, and even has a magnet depicting notorious far-left revolutionary Che Guevara on his refrigerator.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-19
🔮 Republicans have long accused “Decoy Dan” of being a spoiler planted and boosted by Democrats to confuse voters in what is expected to be a very close race between Sen. Sullivan and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), with the claims underpinning FEC complaints and litigation.

Claims (15 extracted, 2 hedged)

A mysterious super PAC propping up retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan in Alaska’s closely watched Senate race is funded by progressive donors, new financial disclosures reveal. asserted
disclosures → prop → donors
Dan J. Sullivan, aka “Decoy Dan,” shares the same first and last name as incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-Alaska) and is listed on the ballot as a Republican despite voting against Donald Trump in each of the past three presidential elections. asserted
Sullivan → share → elections
Republicans have long accused “Decoy Dan” of being a spoiler planted and boosted by Democrats to confuse voters in what is expected to be a very close race between Sen. Sullivan and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), with the claims underpinning FEC complaints and litigation. uncertain
claims → accuse → complaints
New financial disclosures support that theory. asserted
disclosures → support → theory
Right for Alaska, a super PAC that has spent close to $1.15 million to support “Decoy Dan,” took in approximately $990,000 from the left-wing Sixteen Thirty Fund, according to Federal Election Commission data. uncertain
that → spend → data
Right For Alaska, whose mailing address is located in the Twin Cities suburb of Hudson, Wis., also got $1.8 million from the Liberty Force Action Fund, a dark money 501(c)(4) that doesn’t have to disclose its donors. asserted
that → locate → donors
Both Right for Alaska and the Liberty Force Action Fund list as their treasurer a man named Thomas Datwyler — previously linked to lying former Long Island Rep. George Santos (R-NY). asserted
Right → list → Santos
Datwyler did not immediately respond to requests for comment. asserted
Datwyler → respond → comment
Conservative groups have pushed the Justice Department to investigate Datwyler and his antics, accusing him of “running roughshod over federal campaign finance” law. asserted
groups → push → law
Both Dan Sullivans will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, having finished in the top four of The Last Frontier’s non-partisan August primary. asserted
Sullivans → finish → primary
Dan J. Sullivan was kicked off the primary ballot back in June by Alaska’s top election official, who concluded that a “preponderance of the evidence” showed his name and party affiliation were chosen to potentially confuse voters. asserted
name → kick → voters
Days later, the Alaska Supreme Court ordered “Decoy Dan” back on the ballot, finding state law did not require candidates to run in good faith, and told the state Divison of Elections to take less drastic steps to differentiate between the two Sullivans. asserted
law → order → Sullivans
In August, the New York Times reported that Sullivan — who describes himself as a moderate Republican — took part in anti-Trump “No Kings” protests, supported Peltola in both her congressional bids, and even has a magnet depicting notorious far-left revolutionary Che Guevara on his refrigerator. asserted
who → report → refrigerator
Under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, one of Peltola or Sullivan must finish with more than 50% of the vote to be elected. asserted
one → rank → vote
Currently, the Democrat leads by 2.5 percentage points — 49.5% to 47.0% — in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average. asserted
Democrat → lead → average
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