Alaska Republican Senate Candidate Under Investigation For Illegally Receiving Tax Breaks

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Officials are investigating Alaska Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan for possibly illegally receiving a tax break on a home that he owns in Maryland.

According to Alaska Public Radio,

Maryland tax authorities said this week they’ll investigate whether Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan improperly benefited from tax breaks intended for Maryland residents for a house he owned in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

As it turns out, Sullivan’s history of voting in Alaska elections may cost him, even though it helps counter charges that he’s a newcomer.

Questions about the length of his residency in Alaska that have dogged him since the start of his campaign. Rival Republican Mead Treadwell said he had mayonnaise with longer tenure in his fridge. And months ago, the superPAC supporting Sen. Mark Begich, Put Alaska First, zeroed in on a house Sullivan bought in Bethesda, Maryland in 2006, when he worked for the State Department.

Republicans were certain that Sen. Mark Begich’s seat was one that they could flip. Pundits have been surprised by the strength and savvy of the incumbent Democrat’s campaign. There are three types of scandals that can sink a candidate. Sex scandals, residency scandals, and tax scandals can all quickly doom a contender for office. Sullivan has questions surrounding his residency and taxes.

The Republican Party’s dream of storming their way across the country and into a senate majority is turning into a political death march. Their odds of taking back the majority are decreasing every day. Begich leads by an average of 4.6 points in Alaska. Democrats are fighting for every single vote across the country. Instead of the midterm election being a national referendum on President Obama, it is turning into a series of individual statewide elections with no unifying national theme.

Dan Sullivan is another Republican candidate who is not doing well. The questions surrounding his tax breaks in Maryland could keep another seat that Republicans felt confident they could win in Democratic hands.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association