Alaska voters react skeptically to the Senate candidate 'doppelganger' scandal

A scandal that failed to unsettle voters

In Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, on the day of the US midterm elections, voters standing in line at polling stations in near-freezing temperatures generally showed no concern about the scandal surrounding the state's Senate race. This is reported by AFP citing on-the-ground surveys of voters.

The essence of the accusations

Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, running against incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in a race that could determine control of Congress, is accused of her campaign having facilitated the nomination of another Dan Sullivan — in order to create confusion on the ballot and siphon votes away from the senator. The New York Times was the first to report this; Peltola herself said she knew nothing about the scheme. President Donald Trump, who risks losing the Republican majority in the Senate if Alaska is lost, called the second Sullivan a 'fake' and attempted to challenge the election results in advance, but a federal judge rejected the attempt on Sunday. After the Times publication, federal authorities opened a criminal investigation, declining to explain its legal basis.

Reactions at the polling stations

Voters interviewed by AFP were mostly indifferent to the scandal. Dale Brown, a 25-year-old carpenter, called the tactic 'immoral' but noted that 'technically it is not illegal,' and recalled that Republicans had used a similar tactic with 'ghost candidates' in the 2020 Senate elections in Florida. The scandal did not change his vote: he voted for the Democrats, citing fatigue with inflation under the Trump presidency.

No ballot confusion materialized

In practice, the duplicate surnames, as it turned out, did not confuse voters: on the ballot the senator is listed as a 'registered Republican' and 'incumbent senator,' whereas Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has no party affiliation. Election commission members had prepared in advance to answer questions, but, according to one volunteer who asked to remain anonymous, 'people seem to find it all fairly clear.' Ray Hart, a 37-year-old forensic specialist and Republican, said he heard in line: 'Vote for the right Dan Sullivan.'

What voters actually care about

According to those interviewed, the campaign boiled down to a 'dirty fight' instead of a discussion of issues. Pilot Luke Clement noted that inflation, exacerbated, in his words, by Trump's war against Iran, hits Alaska harder because the state is remote and 'everything is brought in, everything depends on the cost of fuel.' People in line also discussed the decline in salmon stocks due to overfishing and climate change, and the question of how actively the state's oil wealth should be developed. Surgical technician Zara Oakley called the scandal around Peltola a 'distraction tactic.' Although Alaska is considered a conservative stronghold, discontent with Trump there is so widespread that, according to polls, the Democrat Peltola is running even with the incumbent senator.