The Alaska Senate race has taken a turn, with Democrat Mary Peltola now leading her opponent, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, by 637 votes in first-choice ballots.
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The race remains too early to call with about 75.5 percent of the estimated vote counted, according to the Associated Press. A day earlier, Sullivan led by 1,677 votes in early Wednesday counts before an AP update at 9:03 a.m. ET put Peltola ahead, according to WDUV.
This particular race garnered national attention when it was revealed that members of Peltola’s campaign recruited an independent candidate named Dan J. Sullivan — the same name as the Republican incumbent. The campaign members and a Democrat operative persuaded “Decoy Dan” to run in order to confuse voters who might vote for the incumbent Sullivan.
Decoy Dan has about 3,583 votes, which could influence the outcome of the election. Neither leader has a majority. If none of them breaks 50 percent, the Division of Elections will run the ranked-choice tabulation on Nov. 18, Reuters reported.
Peltola told supporters on election night, “It won’t be hours, it won’t be days, it will be weeks,” according to Alaska News.
NEW: Alaska numbers. Peltola and Sullivan still separated by just 637 votes. The two recruits including “Decoy Dan” have more than 8,400 votes. Easily enough to sway final results. https://t.co/MmlLloVB58
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) November 5, 2026
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The decoy candidate is central to the fight. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s 3,583 first-choice votes in the Division count are more than five times the margin between Peltola and the real Sullivan.
The real Sullivan’s campaign says it found 70 ballots on which voters marked both Sullivans as their first choice, voiding those ballots in the race. The New York Times reported last week that Peltola’s campaign helped recruit the second Sullivan into the race. Her campaign has denied involvement, but a former staffer said Peltola was not involved in the plot, but she was aware of it.
🔥🚨 BREAKING — The New York Times reports that there’s a SECOND spoiler candidate in Alaska’s Senate Race: Gerald Heikes Both Dan J. Sullivan and Gerald Heikes were reportedly recruited to sway the electorate. Combined, the two have 8,400 votes, a total large enough to sway the final result. The race remains within roughly 700 votes. Mary Peltola is sitting near 103,000 votes in the Alaska Senate race, while Sen. Dan Sullivan trails with 102,300, with Gerald Heikes at 4,800 and Dan J. Sullivan at 3,600.
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) November 5, 2026
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The legal fight is moving on a slower track than the count. Judge Sharon L. Gleason dismissed the Justice Department’s certification suit on Sunday, finding the government had failed to establish that a court could redress its claimed injury.
The judge wrote that requiring the segregation of ballots cast for Decoy Dan so those voters could be investigated by law enforcement “is not a remedy that this Court can or should order as it clearly violates Alaskans’ right to a secret ballot,” according to the Order Dismissing Action.
The complaint was dismissed without prejudice but without leave to amend, and DOJ appealed to the Ninth Circuit the same day, according to The Digital Free Press, reviewing the court records.
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