In the sleepy Alaskan fishing community of Petersburg, nobody has seen Dan J. Sullivan for weeks.
asserted
nobody → see → weeks
His rustic home stood dark a day after FBI agents visited friends who donated to his quixotic campaign to unseat the Republican senator with the same first and last name — Dan S. Sullivan.
asserted
who → stand → name
The only display of politics at his home was a yard sign from the League of Women Voters: “Stand Up for Democracy: Vote 2026.”
asserted
display → stand → Democracy
What may have begun as a ploy to harm the reelection prospects of Sen. Sullivan has taken a serious turn as the Trump administration weighs criminal charges over a campaign tactic known as “ballot stacking.”
“It just seems like such a waste of our taxpayer money,” said Sharon Hunter, a Petersburg resident who, with her husband, donated $1,000 to Dan J. Sullivan, a former elementary school teacher.
uncertain
who → begin → Sullivan
FBI agents knocked on her door Saturday during a round of interviews with the campaign’s dozen contributors.
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agents → knock → contributors
“I’m a bit incredulous about their whole angle,” Hunter said, “because they’re targeting a person who’s been a real contributor in this community.
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who → ’m → community
Recruiting candidates to draw votes away from an opponent has been a part of Alaska's quirky politics for years.
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Recruiting → recruit → years
This time around, the state's open primary and ranked choice voting systems add another wrinkle, making it easier for lesser-known candidates to play spoilers when no contender secures a majority.
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contender → rank → majority
The tactic has drawn fresh scrutiny as the incumbent Sullivan fights off a serious challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. representative, in a race that could determine control of the Senate.
uncertain
that → draw → Senate
Two Sullivans vie for one Senate seat
Peltola has denied any role in the alleged chicanery as she has sought to distance herself from a New York Times article published last week that linked a group backing the former congresswoman to a Democratic operative trying to recruit decoy candidates.
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that → vie → candidates
We’re not in the business of tricking each other up here,” Peltola told supporters at a rally in Anchorage last week.
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Peltola → ’re → Anchorage
Dan J. Sullivan’s entry into the race has drawn scrutiny since June, when the Alaska Division of Elections tried to remove him from the primary ballot, determining he had not filed his candidacy as a Republican in “good faith.”
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he → draw → faith
That finding was overturned by state courts.
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finding → overturn → courts
To avoid any confusion, state officials identify Dan S. Sullivan on the ballot as a Republican and the incumbent.
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officials → avoid → Republican
Dan J. Sullivan repeatedly said he entered the race on his own accord and had no contact with Peltola's campaign — “zero, none, zilch,” he told The Associated Press in June.
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he → say → June
He answered “no” when asked if any Democratic operatives had contacted him to run.
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operatives → answer → him
“This is my choice,” he said at the time.
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he → say → time
A federal lawsuit brought by the Trump administration to revive efforts to undermine the former teacher's candidacy — and challenge a potential Peltola win by blocking certification of the election results — was dismissed on Sunday by a federal judge.
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lawsuit → bring → judge
The Justice Department quickly appealed.
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Department → appeal → ?
AP's efforts to reach Dan J. Sullivan since The Times article have been unsuccessful.
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efforts → reach → article
Several of the donors AP interviewed said they have not spoken to him in quite some time.
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they → interview → time
The senator, meanwhile, is seeking to ride the controversy to a third term.
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senator → seek → term
“My costume is the real Dan Sullivan – not the fake guy,” he quipped to trick-or-treaters Saturday night.
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he → quip → trick
The FBI comes to ‘Little Norway’
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FBI → come → Norway
The controversy has thrust Petersburg, a fishing community of 3,000 known as “Little Norway” for its late 19th century settlers, into the center of a federal investigation and a crush of media attention.
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controversy → thrust → attention
It's the type of small town where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business, and more than a dozen residents said they liked and admired Dan J. Sullivan, calling him a creative teacher who ran an after-school program, Little Kids Rock, to teach guitar.
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who → seem → guitar
At a lively Halloween party at Kito’s Kave, a local dive, a patron poked fun at the surge of interest by dressing up as an FBI agent.
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patron → poke → agent
Another wore a “Petersburg Election Scandal” prison placard around her neck.
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Another → wear → neck
Retired fisherman Ed Wood said he wrote a $1,000 check to Dan J. Sullivan's campaign to repay the support Sullivan and his wife gave to a costly, decade-long battle to block the state from logging a forested hillside that sits above Petersburg.
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that → retire → Petersburg
Another donor, retired boat seller Charles Flint, described Sullivan as a “liberal thinker” who sometimes voted for Republicans.
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who → describe → Republicans
Flint said that Dan J. Sullivan never told him why he entered the race.
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he → say → race
“He probably viewed himself more as a spoiler than a legitimate long shot,” said Flint, who has a “Mary for U.S. Senate” yard sign supporting the Democrat outside his coastal home.
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who → view → home
“I’m sure he’s probably thinking now, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done this.’”
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I → ’m → this
Friends said they are certain that Dan J. Sullivan never expected to generate so much attention, let alone from federal law enforcement.
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Sullivan → say → enforcement
FBI agents have descended on the town in recent days as federal authorities expanded a monthslong criminal probe into allegations that Democratic campaigners sought to recruit candidates to run against the incumbent senator.
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campaigners → descend → senator
Most of Dan J.'s donors live in Petersburg and together contributed $7,150.
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Most → live → 7,150
Those questioned said the agents asked them whether they had felt deceived by the lesser-known Sullivan.
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they → question → Sullivan
Anna Holmes and her husband contributed $500 to Dan J. Sullivan's campaign and were surprised when FBI agents showed up Friday night to question them.
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agents → contribute → them
The agents told the couple they were investigating “campaign finance” violations, Holmes said.
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Holmes → tell → violations
They also asked the couple whether they had intended to contribute to Sen. Sullivan’s campaign.
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they → ask → campaign
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
