DOJ launches investigation into Alaska candidate with same name as sitting senator

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the campaign of Dan J. Sullivan, an Alaska Senate candidate who Republicans have alleged is trying to confuse voters over his name being similar to incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, a source familiar has confirmed to ABC News.

The development came amidst a weekslong controversy over the ballot for a battleground Senate seat that Republicans hope to hold onto and Democrats hope to flip.

Two-term incumbent Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan has found himself defending his seat from someone bearing the same name; Republicans have alleged that the challenger Sullivan was intentionally planted by Democrats to confuse voters, although Democrats and the challenger have denied that.

Federal investigators are looking for potential wire fraud or conspiracy to make the election process unfair, per the source, and it is not clear who might face any charges.

ABC News has reached out to the campaign of challenger Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher with no political experience, about the investigation.

The senator's office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republicans have also alleged that Mary Peltola, the frontrunner Democratic candidate for Senate, stands to benefit from voter confusion over both Sullivans. A spokesperson for Peltola told ABC News on Thursday that their campaign “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”

NBC News was first to report about the investigation.

Alaska’s election office said earlier this month that the challenger Sullivan, a retired teacher, would be removed from the ballot because the office determined his candidacy was not in good faith, but was meant, per an official, "to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality."

But the challenger Sullivan sued the state over the decision, and a state judge ruled last Friday that he is in fact eligible to be on Alaska’s Senate primary ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court, in an order released Monday, upheld the ruling.

Alaska participates in a non-partisan top 4 primary election, meaning there is only one ballot and all candidates are listed together, regardless of political party. It also does not matter what party a voter is affiliated with -- all voters cast their ballots for one candidate.

Unlike traditional primary elections, the Alaska primary does not determine a political party’s nominee. Instead, the four candidates with the most votes move forward to the general election.

The Alaska primary election will take place on Aug. 18, 2026.