Schumer-Backed Veterans Group Backs Non-Veteran Dems Over Decorated Republican

During his three-decade career as a Marine, Sen. Dan Sullivan lived out the Marine Corps’ motto, Semper Fidelis, “always faithful,” retiring as a colonel in 2024 after several deployments across the Middle East and Asia. 

But now in a reelection bid, the Alaskan senator is receiving no such loyalty from a Democrat, Chuck Schumer-aligned super PAC that claims to help “veterans and national security experts win elected office.” Rather than supporting a decorated veteran, Schumer’s VoteVets is opting to rally behind Democrats, including Sullivan’s opponent, former Rep. Mary Peltola and Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, neither of whom served in the military. 

Sullivan’s race for reelection against Peltola is as tight as they come. A recent RealClearPolling average has the Democrat up by 1.2 points, while other polls have Sullivan, a Republican, leading by as much as 3 points. VoteVets, meanwhile, has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into attacks against Sullivan and hosted an event with Peltola. Additionally, the Democrat organization spent millions launching Turek and helped him secure the Democrat nomination. 

Vice President JD Vance highlighted Sullivan’s service during a campaign rally in Fairbanks last week, introducing Sullivan as “a guy who cares about whether he fights for the men and women of this state. That is Marine Corps veteran, and your great senator, Dan Sullivan.”

During his three-decade military career, Sullivan was deployed to the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Central Asia. Sullivan served on a 2013 Joint Task Force in Afghanistan targeting terrorist networks in the Taliban.

“I’m Alaska’s junior U.S. Senator, but with the exception of husband and father, the title ‘Marine’ is my proudest achievement. Always has been. Always will be,” Sullivan said in a statement at the time of his retirement.

Beyond his military service, Sullivan has used his time in office to support the military and provide more resources for the Marines. In May, Sullivan announced a plan to expand the Marine Corps presence in Alaska, including a training program that would equip Marines for the extreme Arctic environment.

But despite Sullivan’s ardent support of the military in and out of uniform, the super PAC supposedly dedicated to electing veterans to office is actively campaigning against him. Even worse, the Democratic outside entity is supporting candidates with no military experience and individuals who have shown little support of the military while in office.

In August, the VoteVets PAC announced a plan to spend $225,000 in an ad campaign to smear Marine Veteran Sullivan for his “support of the war in Iran.”

VoteVets has spent $136,000 on the airwaves in Alaska, including at least $58,000 reserved on radio ads between Oct. 13 and Nov. 2. VoteVets’ sister organization, VoteVets Action Fund has spent more than $200,000 on radio and streaming advertisements in Alaska.

While VoteVets bashed Sullivan and his decades of military service, the group hosted a happy hour in Anchorage with Mary Peltola.

VoteVets’ support for non-veterans goes beyond Alaska. In April, the group announced its plans to drop $4.5 million to support Turek, a candidate with no service experience.

Turek has served as a state representative since 2023 and missed nearly 60% of his votes in the state House this year. One such instance included a key vote on funding for the Iowa veterans home and a veterans home ownership assistance program, which he missed to attend a happy hour with VoteVets.

A military mindset says no man will be left behind. But VoteVets is perfectly willing to leave a veteran in the dust when party control is at stake, spending against a decorated Marine veteran while backing candidates who never served.

Sullivan demonstrated his commitment to America, first as a Marine and later as a senator, but Schumer-backed VoteVets overlooked those accomplishments on the basis of party identification.

VoteVets has made its fidelity clear, and it’s not with the veterans it claims to back.

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