‘Decoy’ Senate Candidate With Same Name As GOP Incumbent Colluded With Liberal Group, Watchdog Group Says

A government watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday alleging that U.S. Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan illegally coordinated with a liberal-leaning nonprofit that ran advertisements criticizing incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican.

Americans for Public Trust, in its filing, focused on the role of Amber Lee, a Democratic political strategist. The complaint states that Lee provided consulting services to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign while serving as a board member, including as director and secretary, of the 907 Initiative.

That group has spent about $1.5 million on advertising targeting Sen. Dan S. Sullivan during the current election cycle, including approximately $575,000 during the final 90 days of the primary campaign.

Dan J. Sullivan entered the race on May 29. The complaint notes that one day before that filing, the 907 Initiative released an advertisement titled “Stop Raising Costs,” which criticized the incumbent. Federal campaign records cited in the complaint show Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign owed Amber Lee Strategies $4,380.41 for website and digital consulting services.

“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,” the complaint states.

“In fact, Ms. Lee helped Daniel J. Sullivan file to run and ‘helped author some of Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign materials’ at a time when her 907 Initiative was already reserving advertisements attacking his opponent,” it continues.

Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, asserted that the “decoy” Sullivan’s conduct is illegal. “It is absolutely a violation of federal election law for someone to wear two hats,” she said. “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.”

Sutherland added, “Sometimes when individuals do engage in schemes, it can be a little bit difficult to see what is happening. This is just a very clear example of coordination.”

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'Decoy Dan' Sullivan illegally colluded with liberal group attacking Alaska GOP Sen. Sullivan, watchdog alleges https://t.co/UG1NSxQcqM pic.twitter.com/cNwm3wr81i

— New York Post (@nypost) September 8, 2026

907 Initiative executive director Aubrey Wieber described the allegation as “patently false” in a statement to the New York Post. “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,” she added.

The FEC complaint is an allegation and does not represent a finding of a violation. Dan J. Sullivan previously indicated that he and Lee had cut ties.

Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and former U.S. Forest Service employee from Petersburg, Alaska, is commonly referred to as “Decoy Dan.” He is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and registered as a Republican shortly before filing his candidacy.

He initially emailed the Alaska Division of Elections requesting that his name appear on the ballot as “Dan S. Sullivan,” matching the incumbent’s middle initial rather than his own “J.” He later corrected the request and described it as a “mistake.”

Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher noted the initial request in correspondence, writing that “S” is Senator Sullivan’s middle initial, not his. Courts later allowed Dan J. Sullivan to remain on the ballot.

Alaska uses a top-four primary system. In the August 18 primary, Democrat Mary Peltola finished first, followed by Senator Dan S. Sullivan. Dan J. Sullivan finished third, while Democrat David Leslie finished fourth with 1.1 percent of the vote. Leslie ultimately withdrew just before the filing deadline, however, leaving the senator, “Decoy Dan” and another Republican on the ballot.

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