2026 US Elections: What is happening in Alaska? A missing candidate and one in prison appear on the ballots

Voters in Alaska will find on their ballots the names of two candidates who remain absent this Tuesday: independent Daniel S. Sullivan Jr., questioned for launching a phantom candidacy to siphon votes from the incumbent Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, and Erick Hafner, a congressional hopeful registered as a Democrat who is currently detained in New York.

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The race in Alaska, the largest US state but one of the least populated, has gained national interest as the result could determine which party controls the Senate.

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Polls show a near-technical tie between Senator Sullivan and former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola, and the winner could be decided by a few hundred votes, which is why the presence of Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher, sparked suspicion and investigations.

US President Donald Trump and Republicans have said they are concerned that voters will be confused between the two Sullivans and end up voting for the wrong candidate.

According to CBS, the retired teacher had left Petersburg, the city where he resides, last week. One of his former students told the station that she had seen him on a flight to Anchorage.

“The reason nobody can find the FAKE Dan Sullivan is that lawyers have taken him and are keeping him hidden while they teach him, step by step, what to say to avoid one of the biggest fraud prosecutions in United States history,” Trump wrote this Monday on his Truth account.

The controversy surrounding the teacher grew after the publication of an investigation by The New York Times featuring alleged text messages between members of the Peltola campaign in which they discussed the possibility of recruiting other people who shared the same last name as the Republican senator.

That information, which cited at least 12 sources, also implicates high-level advisors to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), who allegedly participated in the recruitment of the candidate.

Both the Peltola campaign and the DSCC have denied their involvement. The elementary school teacher has not commented on the matter.

The incarcerated candidate

But it is not only Republicans questioning the alleged electoral maneuvers; the Alaska Democratic Party has made a plea to voters: do not vote for the Democratic candidate in the race for the US House of Representatives.

Eric Hafner, the only candidate among the four for the Lower House registered as a Democrat even though the party rejects his candidacy, is in a federal prison after pleading guilty in 2022 to threatening federal officials, and he is not expected to be released until 2036.

Hafner's qualification for the general election could trigger a new legal challenge, as the Constitution requires that congressmen reside in the state they aspire to represent.

The main candidates in the race are the current incumbent, Republican Nick Begich, and the independent educator and businessman Bill Hill, to whom the Democrats have given their support.

The campaign has deployed posters throughout the state that read: "Don't be fooled! Eric Hafner is in prison in New York." EFE