Dan Sullivan

Political action committees are spending millions to bolster fringe candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race ahead of the Aug. 18 primary, in an effort to weaken the two leading contenders — Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and well-funded Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

Independent spending to boost little-known candidates is not new to Alaska, where the top four vote-getters in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

While Sullivan and Peltola will easily make it onto the November ballot, it remains unclear who will join them, with 14 other candidates — none of whom reported significant fundraising of their own — appearing on the primary ballot.

Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is one of a handful that could determine which party controls the chamber after the midterm elections, with polling predicting a close election, compelling Outside groups to spend massive sums in an effort to sway the outcome.

Fair Deal Alaska, which formed late last month, has already spent nearly $770,000, primarily supporting Carol Hafner and Richard Grayson, who could draw votes away from Peltola.

Both Hafner, a Democrat, and Grayson, a Green Party member, live in the Lower 48 and have run for office in other states.

In an interview Wednesday, Grayson called the spending a “revolting” development that makes him “uncomfortable and angry.” He said he is running for office “for fun” and he supports Peltola’s candidacy.

Right For Alaska, which formed earlier this year, so far has spent $1.2 million promoting conservative candidates Gerald Heikes and Earl “Skip” Southworth in an effort to weaken Sullivan.

Heikes is a Republican perennial candidate from Palmer. Southworth is a member of the newly formed Alaskan Party from Dutch Harbor. Neither responded to interview requests.

A third PAC, American Democracy Project, has spent more than $240,000 promoting David Leslie, a Fairbanks Democrat whose votes could come at Peltola’s expense.

Leslie said in an interview Thursday that he is “alarmed” by the amount of money being spent by outside groups.

“It was a surprise to me when people were messaging me saying that that they liked my ad, and I was like, ‘What are you talking about? I have no video ads,’” Leslie said.

Mailers for the little-known candidates have flooded Alaskans’ mailboxes since late last month, capitalizing on concerns expressed by right- and left-wing voters about the incumbent and his lead challenger.

One mailer promoting Southworth promises he will do more than Sullivan to ban factory trawling. A mailer for Heikes claims that he will do more to fight “DEI and wokeness.”

Other mailers describe Hafner, Grayson and Leslie as “progressive,” apparently seeking to attract left-leaning voters who view Peltola as a centrist who has done little to oppose President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Peltola, a former U.S. House member, has actively sought to position herself as a moderate, touting her gun ownership and support for the resource development industry. One ad for Hafner describes Peltola’s agenda as “MAGA lite.”

Peltola’s campaign is already responding with mailers of its own. “Stop Lower 48 Republicans from rigging the election against Mary Peltola,” read a series of ads landing in Alaskans’ mailboxes.

One fringe candidate not benefiting from significant PAC funding so far is Dan J. Sullivan, a namesake challenger to the incumbent. The retired Petersburg educator appears on the ballot after winning a court challenge against the state, which sought to keep him out of the race after Republican groups complained about his candidacy.

The strategy of promoting multiple like-minded candidates is based on the idea that splitting votes among candidates from one party or ideological camp could benefit the opposing side.

Alaska makes it easy for unknown candidates to appear on the primary ballot, requiring minimal paperwork and a $100 filing fee.

But the state’s ranked choice voting system is designed to mitigate the effect of vote-splitting in the general election, by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and votes are redistributed according to voters’ next choices until a candidate reaches a majority.

Leslie, who is campaigning to expand Medicare and end weapons sales to Israel, said that Alaska’s voting system is part of why he is motivated to run.

“I really believe that that what I’m doing is best for Alaska. It’d be different if we didn’t have ranked choice voting. But it’s so important so people can vote their conscience, vote their values, not vote strategically, which has gotten us into the mess we are currently living in living with in D.C.,” he said.

Even if the PACs succeed in elevating little-known candidates into one of the top four spots in the primary, they are not guaranteed to accept a spot on the November ballot.

A candidate who finishes among the top four in the primary can withdraw from the general election, potentially allowing the fifth-place finisher to advance.

That is exactly what Grayson intends to do, he said Wednesday from his home in Arizona.

“I won’t be on the ballot in Alaska because if I do finish at the top four, I’ll just do what Nancy Dahlstrom and Matthew Salisbury did in the House race two years ago,” said Grayson, referring to the 2024 U.S. House race, when the third- and fourth-place finishers dropped out of the race amid pressure from the Alaska Republican Party, elevating the fifth- and sixth-place finishers onto the general election ballot.

“You just withdraw. That’s why I don’t understand this now,” said Grayson.