Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan slammed the campaign of his Democratic opponent Mary Peltola over its alleged involvement in recruiting another man named Dan Sullivan to run for Senate. But the incumbent senator did not say during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that aired this morning whether the alleged actions constituted a crime, as many other Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have suggested.
“I’ll let the lawyers figure that out,” Sullivan said told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “Whether or not this is legal or not, and I think you know there’s some good arguments on both sides… the key thing I’m focused on is looking at Peltola and her team — and the Democrats in DC, and how they treat Alaskans with disdain.”
Sullivan floated a more than 150-year-old law, which was originally passed to combat the Ku Klux Klan, as a possible legal argument implicating Peltola’s campaign. The statute says it is illegal for any two people to conspire to deprive anyone of their constitutional rights, including the right to vote.
Trump in recent days has called for Peltola, as well as the other Dan Sullivan, to be prosecuted.
Sen. Sullivan did not directly address whether his campaign has evidence that Peltola knew about the alleged plan. Instead, he frequently referenced last week’s New York Times’ report which, quoting Peltola’s former campaign manager, says the former Alaska congresswoman “definitely aware,” but not directly involved in the project.
Despite all the attention the controversy has received, the senator said that the other Sullivan’s inclusion on the ballot may still confuse some Alaskans.
“I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery,” he said.
Some context: In Alaska’s Senate primary in August, the other Sullivan received 2.4% of the vote.
He seemed to do better in Democratic-leaning precincts, suggesting he got support from Democratic-leaning voters who wanted him to advance, but who may ultimately vote for Peltola in the general election.