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Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told the Ruthless Podcast that he is prepared to take down Democrat Mary Peltola despite alleged efforts from Senate Democrats to interfere in the state’s marquee Senate matchup this fall.
“[Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the far-left groups have been saying that the majority goes through Alaska,” Sullivan said in an exclusive interview released on Thursday morning. “So they started going up with negative, far-left money attack ads against me last June. And just if you were in Alaska, you’d see, they pummeled me with negative ads for over a year, and I think they were like, dang, it’s not crushing them the way we thought, so let’s cheat, so they recruit this guy.”
Sullivan’s race gained national attention as Democrats allegedly recruited a retiree also named Dan Sullivan to run against the incumbent to confuse voters.
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“They recruit this guy; he’s a far-left progressive, far left,” the Marine veteran said. “He’s got a list of donors, ActBlue, as I mentioned, Peltola, twice just in the last six months. He tried to take my middle initial; he actually signed up with the Division of Elections with my middle initial. The Division of Elections was like, ‘Wait, you can’t do that; that’s not even your middle initial.’ Then, he tried to steal my middle initial, then he stole my website and my logo.”
Podcast co-host Josh Holmes explained the alleged scheme:
“[The Democrats can’t beat Dan Sullivan] so what they’ve tried to do is get somebody with a Dan Sullivan on the ballot line that they confuse enough people,” Holmes said. “Even if it’s like, two, three, four or five percent on the ballot to get them into the margin where they can be competitive in a general election.”
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The senator, first elected in 2014, doesn’t think the alleged gimmick will pay out for the Democrats.
“I’ll tell you this, guys, I think it’s gonna backfire,” Sullivan said. “Because when I’ve been out, and I’m home every weekend, working at parades, nobody works harder than me and my team. People are mad.”
Peltola, the leading candidate in the Democratic primary, served in the House of Representatives following a special election after Don Young’s passing. His campaign has denied any involvement with the other Sullivan campaign.
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The expected race in Alaska could be the deciding race for control of the Senate. Fox News’ most recent projection classifies the race as a toss-up, along with the races in Iowa, Maine, and Ohio.
Republicans currently hold a 53-to-47 lead in the upper chamber over the Democrats and the Independents in their caucus.
The interview took place as part of the Ruthless Midterm Interview Series, an ongoing initiative to interview major candidates across the country. The hosts have already interviewed candidates in 18 states, with more scheduled ahead of the November midterms.
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Voters in Alaska head to the polls for the primaries on Aug. 18. The general election takes place on Nov. 3.