Federal Probe Puts Petersburg Donors Under FBI Scrutiny

FBI agents have questioned donors in Petersburg, Alaska, as federal authorities expand a monthslong criminal investigation into allegations that Democratic campaigners recruited candidates to run against Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. The Trump administration is weighing criminal charges over “ballot stacking,” a tactic in which candidates are recruited to draw votes away from an opponent. Small-town donors now find themselves inside a federal inquiry over who they meant to support.

Anna Holmes and her husband gave $500 to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign. Holmes said agents visited them Friday night and told them they were investigating “campaign finance” violations. They asked whether the couple had intended to contribute to Sen. Sullivan’s campaign. “I told the agent I would not have done that,” Holmes said.

Sharon Hunter and her husband donated $1,000 to Dan J. Sullivan. FBI agents knocked on Hunter’s door Saturday during a round of interviews with the campaign’s dozen contributors. “It just seems like such a waste of our taxpayer money,” she said. Hunter added that she was “a bit incredulous about their whole angle,” saying agents were “targeting a person who's been a real contributor in this community.”

Donors in the federal spotlight

Petersburg is a fishing community of 3,000 known as “Little Norway.” Most donors to Dan J. Sullivan, who shares the senator’s name and is running against him, live there. Together, they contributed $7,150. Residents told the Associated Press they were asked whether they felt deceived by the lesser-known Sullivan.

Retired fisherman Ed Wood said he wrote a $1,000 check to Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign to repay support Sullivan and his wife had given him during a costly, decade-long fight to block the state from logging a forested hillside above Petersburg. The campaign donation, Wood said, was tied to support he had received in a local fight over the hillside.

Retired boat seller Charles Flint called Sullivan a “liberal thinker” who sometimes voted for Republicans. Flint said Sullivan never told him why he entered the race. “He probably viewed himself more as a spoiler than a legitimate long shot,” Flint said. “I'm sure he's probably thinking now, 'Maybe I shouldn't have done this.'” Flint has a “Mary for U.S. Senate” yard sign outside his coastal home, supporting Democrat Mary Peltola.

Dan J. Sullivan, described by residents as a creative teacher who ran an after-school guitar program called Little Kids Rock, hasn’t been seen in town for weeks. Several donors told the Associated Press they hadn’t spoken to him in quite some time. The Associated Press said it was unable to reach him after a New York Times article about the allegations.

Ballots, courts and competing power

Alaska’s open primary and ranked choice voting systems can make it easier for lesser-known candidates to play spoiler when no candidate wins a majority. Candidate recruitment has been part of Alaska politics for years, but the tactic has drawn new scrutiny as Sen. Sullivan faces a serious challenge from Peltola, a former U.S. representative, in a race that could determine control of the Senate.

The Alaska Division of Elections tried to remove Dan J. Sullivan from the primary ballot, finding he had not filed as a Republican in “good faith.” State courts overturned that finding. State officials identify Dan S. Sullivan on the ballot as a Republican and the incumbent.

Dan J. Sullivan has repeatedly said he entered the race on his own and had no contact with Peltola’s campaign. “Zero, none, zilch,” he told The Associated Press in June. Asked whether Democratic operatives had contacted him to run, he answered “no.” “This is my choice,” he said.

Peltola has denied any role in the alleged effort and sought to distance herself from a New York Times article linking a group backing her to a Democratic operative trying to recruit decoy candidates. “This is Alaska. We're not in the business of tricking each other up here,” Peltola told supporters at a rally in Anchorage the previous week.

The Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to revive efforts to undermine Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy and block certification of election results in the event of a potential Peltola victory was dismissed Sunday by a federal judge. The Justice Department quickly appealed. Meanwhile, Sen. Sullivan is seeking to use the controversy to win a third term. “My costume is the real Dan Sullivan – not the fake guy,” he joked to trick-or-treaters Saturday night.

Amanda Ohmer said she supported the federal investigation and was irked by friends rallying around Sullivan. “It's sleazy,” she said. “Just because Republicans do it, too, doesn't make it right.” At a Halloween party at Kito's Kave, one patron dressed as an FBI agent and another wore a “Petersburg Election Scandal” prison placard bearing the charge “Being a Registered Voter in Alaska.” The controversy has brought a crush of media attention to the town.