A group with national Republican ties alleges U.S. Senate challenger Dan J. Sullivan coordinated with the 907 Initiative, resulting in what it says are excessive in-kind campaign contributions.
Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission against the Petersburg candidate and the 907 Initiative. The progressive Alaska-based group has spent heavily on ads that portray the incumbent Republican senator, also named Dan Sullivan, in a bad light.
The complaint treads some of the same ground as Sen. Sullivan and his supporters have covered in prior complaints. Specifically: that Anchorage political consultant Amber Lee, who helped launch the Petersburg man’s campaign, is a nexus between the challenger and Democratic groups and advocates.
Like all FEC complaints, it won’t be resolved anytime soon. The federal campaign regulator is down to two commissioners and it takes at least four to act on a complaint.
“At this time, when an FEC complaint gets filed, the nonpartisan career staff at the commission can write up a report on the complaint, but then it just sits and it'll continue to sit until there are at least four commissioners back on the commission,” said Shanna Ports, a senior attorney with the Campaign Legal Center who used to work for the FEC.
Staff reports are kept confidential until a case is decided, so complaints go into the FEC, but for now, nothing comes out.
In the new complaint, Americans for Public Trust points out that Lee is a board member of the 907 Initiative, which has spent more than $1 million on negative ads and information campaigns featuring the incumbent senator.
Advocacy groups like 907 Initiative aren’t allowed to coordinate with candidate campaigns and are generally prohibited from sharing employees and vendors, too.
Amber Lee and the 907 Initiative say they complied with the law.
“I serve as an unpaid member of the 907 Initiative board,” Lee said by email. “I am not an employee of the organization, and I do not manage its independent expenditure activity.”
Both the 907 Initiative and Americans for Public Trust bill themselves as independent watchdogs dedicated to government transparency.
Americans for Public Trust’s executive director previously worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund — groups dedicated to electing Republicans to Congress.
Petersburg Dan Sullivan is running a shoestring campaign that is primarily visible through social media posts. He declined an interview request Tuesday. The retired teacher finished third in the August primary and won a spot on the ballot in November.
The complaint is the latest in a series of legal hindrances the challenger has faced. Sen. Sullivan and the Republican Party have fought his candidacy from the start, saying his aim was to confuse voters. They allege he’s a Democratic recruit, although the Petersburg man claims he’s a Republican and insists that filing to run for Senate was his own idea.
Responding to Republican complaints, the Alaska Division of Elections struck him from the primary ballot in June. The courts reinstated him.
NBC News, citing unnamed sources, has reported that the FBI is investigating him and that a grand jury has issued subpoenas. Public sources do not confirm that either is true.
