Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan sent emails last month asking donors for $3, $5, maybe $10 — just enough to fill up his tank so he could visit isolated parts of the state. Heartstring-tugging stuff. The kind of pitch that makes you picture a guy thumbing through his glove box for spare change at a rural gas station.
Except Federal Election Commission filings tell a different story. Sullivan’s campaign is sitting on $7 million in cash. And the receipts — well, they read less like a bootstrap operation and more like a lobbyist’s expense account.
The Bachelorette Resort and Other Essentials
Between January 2025 and March 2026, Sullivan’s political action committees racked up some memorable charges. His PAC, Sullivan Victory, dropped $27,400 on a stay at La Quinta Resort in California — the same property where ABC filmed season 16 of The Bachelorette. The visit happened to coincide with Coachella, which was taking place six miles away. Whether the senator or anyone in his orbit attended the festival remains unclear, but the resort’s 41 pools and 23 tennis courts offered plenty of recreational options.
Then there’s Bistro Cacao, a flashy French restaurant in DC where, according to The Washingtonian, “Capitol Hill power brokers fill the tables.” Sullivan visited 21 times during the same 15-month window, billing his campaign and True North PAC more than $21,500. Fine dining as constituent outreach.
He also frequented the 116 Club — a private DC establishment known for its high-powered lobbyist clientele — 10 times, racking up nearly $12,300. One visit to Joe’s Stone Crab cost $5,376.11. A single meal at RPM Italian ran $2,000, at a restaurant that sells $36 ravioli and a $900 bottle of sparkling wine.
The Gas Prices Are Real — Just Not for Him
Alaska’s gas prices are brutal. As of last Friday, the state average hit $5.20 per gallon — nearly a dollar higher than the national average of $4.22. A year ago, it was $3.65. Sullivan has backed President Trump’s military escalation in Iran, which has been widely blamed for driving up fuel costs across the country.
So the “I need gas money” pitch isn’t wrong — it’s just not his problem.
Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French put it bluntly: “Clearly, this isn’t a senator struggling to connect with working Alaskans — it’s a man who genuinely cannot tell the difference between his campaign account and a black card.”
The Counterpunch: “But Peltola Does It Too”
Sullivan’s campaign didn’t respond to questions about the spending. Instead, spokesman Nate Adams — who also serves as vice president of Black Rock Group, a firm that’s been paid $141,000 by Sullivan’s campaign — pointed the finger at his opponent, Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.
Adams accused Peltola of using her campaign “as a personal slush fund” and cited her $1,000 hotel bill during the Golden Globes. A source close to Peltola’s campaign told the Daily Mail that no one from her team attended the event.
Peltola’s FEC filings show she pays herself a bimonthly salary of $2,637 (roughly $68,500 annually) and spent $4,700 on DoorDash for staff meals. She also paid $232,800 on a now-dissolved House reelection campaign and $204,400 in processing fees to ActBlue, the Democratic donation platform — similar to Sullivan’s $48,000 in WinRed fees.
A national Republican operative close to Sullivan’s campaign told the Daily Mail that Peltola’s spending is “hypocritical” and accused her of being funded by millionaires and billionaires despite her public stance against them. The operative also noted that Peltola took a job at lobbying firm Holland & Hart after losing her reelection campaign.
Peltola’s camp fired back: “While Mary is focused on driving down costs for Alaska families, self-serving Sullivan is living large on his donors’ dime and voting to raise prices at every turn.”
The Other Dan Sullivan Problem
Sullivan’s campaign has also accused Peltola of recruiting a “sham candidate” — another man named Dan Sullivan — to run on the conservative ticket and confuse voters. Adams called it a deliberate attempt to “trick Alaskans and buy a Senate seat.”
Peltola’s campaign denied any involvement: “Our campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”
What the Receipts Say
Campaign finance hypocrisy isn’t new. Politicians routinely send desperate-sounding fundraising emails while sitting on millions in cash. But the specifics here — the $27,400 resort stay, the 21 visits to a French bistro, the $5,376 stone crab dinner — create a vivid contrast with the “help me fill my tank” pitch.
Sullivan’s campaign spent $9,500 at the Safari Lodge in Alaska and $6,500 at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. The True North PAC paid for lodging. The candidate enjoyed the amenities.
Meanwhile, Alaska voters are paying $5.20 a gallon.
The primary is August 18. Sullivan, Sullivan, and Peltola will face off. The emails will keep coming. The receipts already have.