A (probably small, but who knows?) scandal has been brewing here for Sullivan:
The race drew some national attention last month when secretly recorded videos leaked by an environmental group showed Tom Collier, the now-former CEO of a mining partnership looking to develop Alaska’s Pebble Mine, talking about his influence over Sullivan.
While Sullivan had put out a statement indicating he was opposed to the Pebble Mine project due to its environmental impact, the footage showed Collier boasting about the company’s sway over local officials and suggesting the senator was hoping to “ride out the election” and would not ultimately be an impediment to the project.
Gross has called on Sullivan to return donations from Collier. For his part, Sullivan has insisted he “unequivocally” believes the Pebble Mine project “cannot be permitted.”
“Any suggestion otherwise is either wishful thinking, a blatant mischaracterization, or a desperate attempt to secure funding for a mine that cannot move forward,” Sullivan said in a statement.
A story that old would not normally be electorally noteworthy, but perhaps there is something here. The Intercept is usually a bit trashy, but that they've picked the story up this late suggests it still has some momentum.
They're late to the table. Gross has been running ads with this story for months.
