‘The scheme is working’: Dan Sullivan claims voters regret accidentally backing his namesake

WASHINGTON, D

WASHINGTON, DC: Democrats’ alleged strategy of fielding a candidate with the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan to confuse voters may have paid off, or at least that is what a furious Alaska senator is now claiming.

The 61-year-old Republican Senator has claimed several Alaska voters approached him on election day and apologized after confusing him with Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher whose presence on the ballot has prompted a Justice Department investigation.

DOJ even filed litigation to stall certification of election results in the state of Alaska if Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola wins the election.

However, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the federal government doesn't have authority to force Alaska to segregate and investigate any ballots in the three-way race between Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan, and Democrat Mary Peltola.

Dan Sullivan claims voters ‘apologized’ to him

The Alaska incumbent was speaking to Fox News correspondent Matt Finn on Tuesday, November 03, when he claimed local voters are apologizing to him after worrying they mistakenly voted for the rival candidate with the same name.

“We’ve been hearing from all kinds of people who are confused [when it comes to casting their ballot],” he said. “I’ve heard from people who think they’ve voted for the wrong guy and have apologized to me. Just like I said, the scheme is working.”

The alleged ploy overshadowed the Alaska election after the New York Times broke the news that Democratic operatives spent months searching for someone named Dan Sullivan to run against the Republican incumbent.

According to the report, individuals linked to Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee allegedly discussed recruiting a candidate with a similar name to potentially draw votes away from the incumbent senator.

Peltola denied any involvement in the alleged plan, while the other Sullivan has maintained that his candidacy was legitimate and that he was not recruited by her campaign.

President Donald Trump also repeatedly weighed in on the controversy, accusing Democrats of trying to manipulate the election. In an October Truth Social post, Trump described the alleged tactic as “CHEATING,” warning that even a small number of misdirected votes could determine the outcome.

‘Decoy’ Dan Sullivan missing on Election Day

According to NY Post, ‘decoy’ Dan Sullivan remained missing on Election Day as the Alaska incumbent and Peltola continued holding campaign events.

He did not respond to an email or text message from The Post on Tuesday. His voicemail played a lengthy Halloween-themed message.

Sullivan left his small hometown of Petersburg last Monday, CBS News reported, with a former student spotting him on a flight to Anchorage.

Sullivan’s disappearance came as Attorney General Todd Blanche maintained that the Department of Justice (DOJ) could scrutinize individual ballots in Alaska if the midterm results suggest that voter confusion may have affected Republican Sullivan’s reelection bid.

Asked what circumstances could trigger further DOJ action, Blanche told Fox News' Martha MacCallum: “There’s a scenario where the incumbent, Senator Sullivan, could lose, but really he didn’t lose because of ranked-choice voting. If it’s clear that voters were confused, and again, that’s why you need to preserve these ballots.”

He added that authorities could potentially “look at the individual ballots” to determine whether there was evidence of voter confusion.