Corruption & Accountability · Report · File No. 261101-304
X suspends then restores Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign account days before Alaska vote
The platform X flagged Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign account as inauthentic and took it down Friday. It was back by Saturday, and X hasn't said why. The episode adds to the confusion over two candidates with the same name.
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The campaign account of Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, was temporarily suspended on X, the social media platform, days before Alaska's Senate election. X flagged it under its rules on inauthentic accounts, Newsweek reported. 1
One clarification matters here. The suspended profile was @DanSullivan_AK, the senator's own campaign account. It was not an account belonging to the other candidate with the same name. 1
The account was taken down Friday and restored by Saturday afternoon. X has not publicly explained the decision, and it is unclear what prompted it. The Alaska Landmine, a news outlet, first reported the suspension. 1
Two Dans on the ballot
Sullivan is running for reelection against Democrat Mary Peltola. Independent candidate Dan J. Sullivan is also on the ballot. Republicans argue the second candidacy could confuse voters and pull support from the senator. 1
From Channel GOPPeltola: Tariffs doubled Alaska air taxi's parts billMary Peltola · 142 plays · captioned, with the source named
Dan J. Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. He made it through the August open primary and is one of four candidates in the ranked-choice contest. An elections official ruled him ineligible, but the Alaska Supreme Court later ruled he could run. 2
On October 28, The New York Times reported that people tied to Peltola's campaign and Democratic operatives had been involved in efforts to recruit candidates with names like Sullivan's. 12 Peltola has denied knowing about or being involved in the effort. 1 Her campaign said it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. 2
Dan J. Sullivan has denied that Democrats recruited him. In June he said "Zero, none, zilch." 12 The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party's Senate campaign arm, also denied any involvement with him. 2
Investigation and lawsuit
Gov. Mike Dunleavy then ordered an investigation into whether the alleged recruitment broke state law. The Justice Department also filed a lawsuit. It seeks to halt certification of a possible Peltola win. 1 These are allegations and legal claims. Neither has been proven. 1
Sen. Sullivan was asked on CNN whether he would accept the results only if he won. He said he would accept them either way. 1
No, I'm going to accept the election results,
A very close race
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. If no one gets more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is dropped. Those voters' ballots then go to their next choice, and this repeats until someone has a majority. 1
An Alaska Survey Research poll of 1,326 likely voters, taken October 26-29, had Peltola ahead 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent in a ranked-choice runoff. The margin of error was 3 percentage points. 1 Cook Political Report and Inside Elections call the race a toss-up. 1
Newsweek said it emailed Sullivan's campaign and X for comment on Sunday. Neither reply was included in its report. 1
That matters because X has given no reason, so the suspension proves nothing about who is behind either candidacy. What it shows is how much uncertainty surrounds this race, with voting two days away. 1
The Record
- The New York Times reports that people tied to Peltola's campaign and Democratic operatives were involved in efforts to recruit candidates named Dan Sullivan. 12
- X suspends Sen. Sullivan's campaign account, @DanSullivan_AK, after flagging it under its rules on inauthentic accounts. 1
- The account is restored by Saturday afternoon, with no public explanation from X. 1
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Sources
- Newsweek, “Dan Sullivan's X Account Suspended After Being Flagged As Potentially Fake” (2026-11-01). newsweek.com/dan-sullivans-x-account-suspended-after-being-f
- AP (via WRDW), “Report: Peltola's campaign involved in effort to recruit second Dan Sullivan for Alaska Senate race” (2026-10-28). wrdw.com/2026/10/28/report-peltolas-campaign-involved-effort
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Justice Department asks judge to set aside Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan
The filing, five days before the midterm election, asks that ballots ranking the second Dan Sullivan be preserved and kept separate while the government investigates whether voters were confused. Alaska's governor has already ordered a state investigation into Mary Peltola's campaign.
Peltola denies knowing of Alaska's second Dan Sullivan as DOJ issues new subpoenas
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola said she knew nothing about the namesake candidate on Alaska's ballot. The Justice Department escalated its criminal probe days before an election that could decide control of the Senate.
Alaska governor orders investigation into Peltola campaign days before election
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy directed the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether an alleged scheme to recruit a second Dan Sullivan violated Alaska law. The Senate race is one of the tightest in the country, and the probe lands five days before the Nov. 3 midterm.
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