‘Decoy Dan’ could be deciding factor in Alaska Senate race

( NewsNation ) — As the Alaska Senate race votes continue to be tallied, the votes for the wrong Dan Sullivan could be the difference in who wins.

With 74% of the vote counted, the race remains in focus after some voters told NewsNation on Tuesday they were confused by seeing two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

According to the latest polls, "Decoy Dan" has less than 2% of the vote from Alaskans.

NewsNation tracked down a "paranoid" Alaska voter over the weekend, who said, "I might be just having a brain freeze, but I don't remember the second Dan Sullivan. I definitely intended to vote for the real Dan Sullivan."

Wrong Dan Sullivan's votes could decide Alaska winner

Despite the razor-thin margins, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola remains upbeat about her chances of securing victory after the Democrats' landslide victory. DDHQ polls noted Peltola leads Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan by less than one percentage point.

Peltola paid no mind to the ballot scandal allegations in a New York Times report that said Peltola's campaign worked with people trying to recruit Dan J. Sullivan to run for Senate in a "ballot composition project."

Sullivan balked at Peltola's remarks, stating, "My opponent has run her campaign on literally from the beginning, purposely misleading Alaskans, cheating, and then lying for the last year and a half."

The deadline for absentee ballots in the state isn't till Nov. 18.

NewsNation's Dylan Furbay contributed to this report.