JUNEAU, Alaska — In the upcoming Alaska election, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is seeking reelection, but he faces an unusual challenge among his 15 opponents: another candidate sharing his name.
Speaking to the press in Washington, D.C., the senator accused Democrats and the campaign team of his main competitor, former Democratic U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, of orchestrating this name confusion as a ploy. He hinted at legal action to investigate the matter further.
“Everyone in Alaska knows me as Dan Sullivan-R. So what’s the intent behind this?” the senator questioned, referring to the other Dan Sullivan. “He’s not a Republican. His goal is to mislead my supporters and skew the election in Peltola’s favor,” he added.
Harry Child, representing Peltola’s campaign, stated there is “no involvement” with either Sullivan campaign. Similarly, Jenny-Marie Stryker, head of the Alaska Democratic Party, clarified that their party is “not affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.”
The situation with two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the August primary ballot has raised eyebrows among both state and national Republican circles. They argue that this could lead to voter confusion, potentially benefiting Peltola.
Alaska’s primary system allows the top four candidates, irrespective of party, to progress to the ranked-choice general election.
Blake Murphy, an attorney for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, sent a letter dated Monday to Alaska election officials outlining concerns about the potential for voter confusion. Murphy also raised questions about the party affiliation of the challenger, calling the other Dan Sullivan a “sham” candidate.
Murphy wrote the NRSC could consider legal action “to ensure that the Alaska electoral process remains fair.”
Carmela Warfield, the state Republican Party chair, said in a statement accompanying Murphy’s letter that until recently, the challenger was registered as undeclared. In previous years, ballots have not identified which candidates were incumbents.
A spokesperson for the Alaska Division of Elections, Steve Kirch, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter and said a records request would be required to get details of the challenger Sullivan’s voter registration history.
Sullivan, the incumbent senator, is an ally of President Donald Trump and is seeking a third term. He and Peltola are the highest-profile candidates in a race that’s being closely watched nationally as Democrats try to retake the Senate majority in this year’s midterm elections.
State election officials certified a Republican Dan J. Sullivan, from the southeast Alaska fishing community of Petersburg, as one of the candidates in the U.S. Senate race. Efforts to reach him were not immediately successful on Tuesday, and he did not appear to be registered with the Federal Election Commission.
His campaign website says he is a Midwesterner who moved to Alaska to work for the U.S. Forest Service and has been in Petersburg for nearly 50 years. After becoming disillusioned with what he saw as government inefficiency and “lack of long-term thinking,” he switched careers and became an elementary school teacher, the site says.
The challenger Sullivan said on his campaign website that the state deserves a senator who “puts Alaska first every single day. That’s the commitment I’m making to the people of this state, and together, we’re going to elect a Sullivan that actually stands up for Alaska.”
Sen. Sullivan, emphasizing his words with an expletive, told reporters in Washington that having the second Sullivan on the ballot was a scandalous attempt to trick Alaskans: “That’s an insult.”
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Freking reported from Washington.
