FBI contacts donors, DOJ sues Alaska as same-name Senate candidate vanishes before Election Day

Three days before Election Day, the FBI is knocking on doors in remote Alaskan fishing villages, the Justice Department is fighting in federal court to quarantine ballots, and the independent Senate candidate at the center of it all has left his hometown and cannot be located — a sequence of events with no recent parallel in American electoral politics.

FBI agents have contacted donors to Daniel J. Sullivan — a retired teacher and musician from Petersburg, Alaska, who shares his first and last name with Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan — in at least two remote Alaskan communities and in Massachusetts, according to CBS News. An Anchorage-based agent visited a Petersburg boat dealership and left a business card for Charles Flint, who told the Associated Press he has known Dan J. Sullivan for years as a respected teacher and musician. Petersburg is accessible only by air or water.

Sullivan left Petersburg earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News. A resident and former student said she saw him board a flight to Anchorage on Monday — two days before the New York Times first reported that he was recruited by operatives linked to Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign. His current whereabouts are unknown. Peltola has denied knowing anything about the alleged scheme.

The legal fight over the race escalated when the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit seeking a court order to isolate certain Alaska ballots and block certification of results if Peltola wins, arguing that two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the same ballot violates the National Voter Registration Act by creating voter confusion. Alaska's Attorney General's Office filed a motion to dismiss the suit and called the DOJ's argument one with 'no legal basis.'

What's more, the relief demanded is inappropriate and not even possible given Alaskan voters' vital right to ballot secrecy.— Alaska Attorney General's Office

The state also argued that 'state officials carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion.' U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason set a deadline for arguments on whether to dismiss the case. The DOJ has separately launched a criminal investigation into the race and issued multiple subpoenas of Democratic officials, according to CBS News.

The saga has roots in June, when Alaska state election officials found Daniel J. Sullivan ineligible for the ballot, calling his candidacy a 'determined effort and a deliberate attempt' to confuse voters. The Alaska Supreme Court later that month upheld a lower court ruling overturning that decision, finding that the 'good faith' standard used against him had no basis in the state constitution, Alaska law, or the election division's own regulations.

The Alaska race is the most legally volatile of a midterm cycle that, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, is on track to be the most expensive in U.S. history, fueled in part by massive donations from Elon Musk and the crypto industry.

Elsewhere, the final weekend saw candidates fanning out across a map of tight races. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — a doctor and unionist — and Republican Mike Rogers are locked in a tight contest for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Gary Peters, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. El-Sayed has galvanized young voters but has faced anti-Muslim rhetoric and division within his own party over his criticism of Israel and past associations.

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico held a campaign tour at the Bayou Music Hall in Houston on Saturday, where Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa also appeared. Talarico has centered his campaign on political corruption, pointing to donations Musk has made to Republican Senate campaigns this cycle, including transfers to the campaign of his Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat. There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US senator.— James Talarico, Democratic Senate candidate, Texas

No one ever thought that we would ever get this close.— Gina Hinojosa, Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Texas

In Ohio, Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's race against Democrat Amy Acton has been overshadowed by a campaign advertisement featuring Acton's estranged mother, who had no contact with her daughter for nearly 50 years and whose then-husband was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12. The ad drew condemnation from several prominent Republicans, though President Trump encouraged Ramaswamy to keep it running, saying it was 'hitting pay dirt.' Ramaswamy said Thursday the ad's planned run was over, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Trump separately announced a telerally supporting Ramaswamy, Senate candidate Jon Husted, and several House Republicans in Ohio.

In Iowa, Republican Sen. Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek — a former Paralympian born with spina bifida — are running neck and neck in what the Sydney Morning Herald describes as a race that could test whether traditionally red Iowa is shifting. Hinson has distanced herself from some of Trump's positions, telling NBC: 'A vote for me is a vote for Iowa.' Turek has called for ending the Iran war and repealing Trump's tariffs.

In Virginia, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined a rally in Virginia Beach on Saturday for the rematch between Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans and Democratic nominee Elaine Luria in the 2nd Congressional District.

I'm very confident that House Democrats are on the verge of taking back control because the American people are fed up with MAGA extremism.— Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Leader

Trump will have no choice but to accept the results, because I believe that the American people are on the verge of delivering a decisive verdict.— Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Leader

Trump, meanwhile, announced telerallies for Republican candidates in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, including gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity and several House incumbents. It is the second of six such telerallies he is hosting for Republican candidates nationwide, according to CBS News.

Ballotpedia has identified 50 of 435 House races as battlegrounds in this cycle. Early voting is underway in all 50 states.

Why it matters — Control of the Senate and House — and the direction of U.S. policy on taxes, trade, healthcare and war — will be decided Tuesday, with the Alaska race alone capable of triggering a constitutional crisis over ballot certification.

Sources differ on Whether the Alaska ballot was designed to confuse voters: The ballot threatened the integrity of the vote count due to two candidates named Dan Sullivan (DOJ position) (cbsnews.com) vs State officials carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion (Alaska AG position) (cbsnews.com)

Sources differ on Whether Mary Peltola knew about the alleged scheme to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan: People associated with Peltola's campaign helped recruit Sullivan (New York Times report, per CBS News) (cbsnews.com) vs Peltola has denied knowing anything about the alleged scheme (cbsnews.com)

Reported by cbsnews.com, chamberlight.com, smh.com.au, usatoday.com, ballotpedia.org