PACs Funnel Millions into Fringe Senate Bids in Alaska and Ohio

A wave of newly established political action committees is pouring millions of dollars into key Senate races in Alaska and Ohio. These organizations, all sharing ties to Wisconsin-based consultant Thomas Datwyler, are aggressively targeting Republican incumbents while simultaneously promoting minor, fringe candidates. This strategy aims to shift the vote balance in contests critical to determining future control of the U.S. Senate.

In the final weeks before the general election, two PACs where Datwyler is listed as treasurer—Alaska Values PAC and Red Alaska PAC—have spent over $3.75 million attacking Senator Daniel S. Sullivan. These groups are actively campaigning for Gerald “Jerry” Heikes, a dry-wall contractor and little-known conservative challenger. Similar tactics are being deployed in Ohio, where the Datwyler-linked Buckeye Freedom PAC has spent more than $3.8 million to criticize Senator Jon Husted and support the longshot libertarian candidate William Redpath. A drywall contractor named Gerald “Jerry” Heikes, told the Times he was also recruited to run by a man who promised to “make things happen for you, another little-known conservative in the race. According to heikes, who didn’t respond to messages from,, He didn’t remember the man’s name. But they also warn that the tactics undermine faith in elections and show the outsized influence of hard-to-track money flowing through the nation’s political system. This isn’t the first time groups tied to the same political strategist have used that loophole to meddle in the high-profile Alaska race. Another longshot candidate running as a member of the “Alaskan Party.”, dan Sullivan and boost Heikes and Earl Southworth. A Republican super PAC funded a PAC that spent more than $800,000 promoting a Green Party candidate and another minor Democrat in the Alaska Senate race and opposing Peltola. Red Alaska, which was registered earlier this month, has spent an additional $10,000, according to its latest filing. Narrators claim Sullivan had supported transgender issues or excessive federal spending and portray Heikes as the real conservative, in YouTube ads purchased by Alaska Values. The ads urge voters to avoid ranking Sullivan under Alaska’s unusual ranked-choice voting system. “Rank one name, leave the rest blank: Only rank Heikes,” a narrator declares in one ad. A gun-toting narrator accuses Husted of “pushing background checks and red flag laws,” while touting Redpath as “a real Second Amendment guy.”, in one of the PAC’s ads.

The current spending reflects a pattern seen earlier this year. During the August Alaska Senate primary, a separate Datwyler-associated committee, Right for Alaska, spent over $2.3 million in the campaign’s closing days to attack Senator Sullivan. Federal Election Commission records revealed that the group, which only disclosed its funding sources after the vote, was partially financed by a liberal dark-money organization. Both Redpath and Heikes have claimed they were unaware of the specific origins of the funding supporting their bids, with Redpath stating he had not seen the PAC’s promotional advertisements prior to media inquiries.

These maneuvers leverage a tactical loophole in federal campaign finance regulations. By initiating their spending late in the election cycle, the committees often avoid the necessity of publicizing their donor lists until after the voters have already cast their ballots. Michael Beckel, director of money-in-politics reform at the advocacy group Issue One, warned that such gamesmanship risks eroding public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.

Legal and ethical questions regarding these operations remain unresolved. The Campaign Legal Center has filed several complaints with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that various entities linked to Datwyler have misattributed contributions, utilized shell companies to obscure payment recipients, and engaged in improper fund transfers. These complaints, including those involving congressional races in Texas and Wisconsin, remain pending. Furthermore, records show a group listing Datwyler as treasurer, Our First Principles Fund, spent over $60,000 in 2021 to support third-party candidate Princess Blanding in a Virginia gubernatorial race, where she ultimately secured less than one percent of the vote.

The broader landscape in Alaska is further complicated by ongoing Justice Department scrutiny. Federal investigators are probing allegations that Democratic campaigners actively recruited candidates like Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.—a rural schoolteacher—to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent. Donald Trump and other Republican leaders have publicly criticized these efforts. While some critics decry the tactics, others like David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, argue that such activities are a messy but inherent component of a democracy centered on free speech, noting that he sees few viable regulatory solutions. Sullivan Jr., a rural schoolteacher, onto the ballot to siphon votes from the incumbent, after the New York Times quoted Peltola’s former campaign manager airing new allegations about the effort this week. Peltola has denied knowledge of the plan. But free speech advocates say PACs should be allowed to support candidates for any reason and that voters can decide how to act.

Attempts to reach Datwyler for comment have been unsuccessful. A woman at his Wisconsin residence recently indicated he would not discuss his involvement in these campaigns. In a video previously posted to his company’s social media, Datwyler dismissed criticism, describing the reporting on his professional activities as meaningless and meritless. He stated that the scrutiny only serves to motivate him, asserting that such attacks indicate he and his clients are viewed as significant threats by their political opponents. “The work is so much more important than the noise and the press that attack me with meaningless, meritless articles,” he said. “It motivates me more because I know that they wouldn’t be attacking me or my clients if we.