On the Alaska Senate ballot, one name reads "Sullivan, Dan S." The other reads "Sullivan, Daniel J."
One is the Republican senator. The other is a retired teacher, and the Justice Department wants to know how he got there.
In the past few days, federal investigators have sent more than 30 subpoenas in a single 24-hour stretch, according to reports. A Reuters source puts the total at more than 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests. Some went to Democrat Mary Peltola's Senate campaign offices and some went to the second Sullivan's.
Investigators want to know whether Democrats broke federal law by plotting to put a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot to confuse voters and drain votes from the real one.
According to the New York Times, which spoke to 12 people connected to the effort, Democrats had a name for it: the "ballot composition project." It involved aides tied to Peltola's campaign, Democratic lawyers and senior staff at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Senate Democrats' campaign arm. The planning reportedly went back to 2025, months before Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. filed to run.
One of the people the Times identified was Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz. According to the reporting, Kurtz traveled around Alaska under an assumed name while contacting potential candidates, including the man who ended up on the ballot.
A Democratic operative allegedly hid his own name while going around Alaska looking for a man with the right one.
Then there's what Peltola knew. The Times reported that her former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, said Peltola was "definitely aware" of the project.
Peltola says otherwise. She says she "knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent." Her campaign and the DSCC deny any involvement, and the second Sullivan says he decided to run on his own.
Federal investigators don't seem to be taking their word for it.
The Justice Department has also asked to have ballots that rank Daniel J. Sullivan set aside, so they can be reviewed if needed. Alaska's Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, ordered a state investigation into whether Peltola's campaign broke state law. The House Oversight Committee opened its own investigation. President Trump has said the people behind it should be prosecuted.
For years, Democrats have warned Americans about threats to democracy and election interference. In Alaska, federal investigators are now looking at whether Democrats built a project with a name, a budget of operatives and a recruiter using a fake identity to trick voters into checking the wrong box.
If Peltola's campaign had nothing to hide, it's hard to explain why the man finding candidates needed to hide his own name.
The second Sullivan filed in May. The investigation is speeding up. Alaska votes Tuesday.
Read the ballot carefully. It's "Dan S." you're looking for if you want the senator, and the Justice Department wants to know who put "Daniel J." there.