Actor and outspoken MAGA supporter Kevin Sorbo, who currently lives in Florida, has sparked backlash after accusing Democrats of election fraud over a controversial same-name candidate in a closely watched Senate race. Given the nature of Sorbo’s accusation, critics also pointed to similar spoiler candidacy tactics used by Republicans in 2024 and previous elections.
Sorbo took to X on November 5 to condemn the appearance of a second candidate named Sullivan on the ballot, arguing that deliberately running someone with a similar name to confuse voters should carry serious criminal consequences. “This is election fraud. Finding another candidate with the same name and running him to confuse voters should be just cause for prison and disqualify someone from office forever,” he wrote.
The controversy centres on Alaska’s Senate contest between Democratic challenger Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, who faced another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. In the early results shown in the election tally, Peltola received 102,701 votes, narrowly ahead of the incumbent’s 102,075. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who appeared without a party affiliation, received another 3,583 votes.
The presence of the second Sullivan has fuelled allegations that Democrats deliberately recruited a spoiler candidate to divert support from the Republican senator. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement, although reporting by The New York Times alleged that people connected to her campaign helped recruit the candidate.
The controversy has prompted investigations by state and federal authorities. However, Alaska’s Supreme Court allowed the second Sullivan to remain on the ballot, and no criminal finding has established that election fraud occurred. The state uses ranked-choice voting, meaning voters can rank multiple candidates rather than selecting just one.
Critics are Calling Out Sorbo
Sorbo’s comments quickly attracted criticism, with several users pointing out that Republicans have also faced accusations of using similar electoral tactics. “Gee, I wonder where they could have gotten that idea?” one commenter wrote while alluding to 2020 and 2024 GOP ghost/spoiler candidate tactics.
Another brought up the 2024 Washington gubernatorial race in which a Republican activist reportedly paid two candidates named Bob Ferguson to challenge the Democratic frontrunner of the same name. “Already ruled as legal. Republicans did something similar and you never complained then,” another user argued.
Others questioned whether voters could genuinely mistake the two candidates. “If you’re dumb enough not to understand the clearly marked differences between the candidates on this ballot, then you should not be allowed to vote,” one critic wrote. Another added, “It really isn’t fraud at all. Many elections throughout history have had people with the same name running against each other.”
Not everyone disagreed with Sorbo, however. One supporter defended his position, writing: “Of course it is. If the Democrats didn’t have fraud, duplicity, and hypocrisy they’d have no platform at all.” Meanwhile, Alaska’s Senate race remains highly contentious, with the narrow margin and competing allegations of political manipulation keeping the unusual contest in the national spotlight.
