WASHINGTON — A Republican candidate in Alaska who shares a name with the state’s incumbent senator, Dan Sullivan, moved through the open primary Wednesday, adding fresh confusion to a GOP race that Democrats hope could work in their favor.
Retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan secured a spot in Alaska’s open primary system, which advances the top four finishers regardless of party to the general election, according to multiple projections issued more than a week after the Aug. 18 vote.
The candidate, nicknamed “Decoy Dan” after registering as a Republican just days before the primary, will appear in the final stretch alongside GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democratic former Rep. Peltola.
The identity of the fourth candidate headed to the November ballot was not immediately clear.
Alaska will use ranked-choice voting in the general election.
Peltola has been ahead in polling in the closely watched Alaska Senate race, even though the state has traditionally leaned Republican.
Dan J. Sullivan has rejected claims that he is a Democratic plant whose matching name could peel votes away from Sen. Sullivan and indirectly help Peltola.
He has described himself as a moderate Republican, though he told the New York Times he voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in each of the last three elections, attended at least one “No Kings” protest and supported Peltola in both of her congressional campaigns.
The Last Frontier state last picked a Democrat for Senate in 2008, but Peltola managed to flip Alaska’s at-large US House seat in 2022, proving that she is a force to be reckoned with in statewide races.
Democrats see Alaska as one of their top four pick-up opportunities for the Senate this cycle alongside Maine, Ohio and North Carolina.
Complicating things for the Republicans has been Dan J. Sullivan’s inclusion on the ballot.
While a lower court judge initially kicked him off the ballot, citing evidence that he wasn’t mounting “an actual good-faith candidacy,” the Alaska Supreme Court let him back on.
The lower court judge had knocked “Decoy Dan” for registering as a Republican days before filing his candidacy.
Peltola’s campaign has meanwhile been hit by recent turbulence.
Earlier this month, Peltola ignited controversy when her campaign said it didn’t approve of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ fundraising message in support of her Senate bid.
Harris had urged her supporters to back Peltola, who is trying to win in a state that the former veep lost by about 14 percentage points.
Afterward, Peltola lost several senior campaign officials in what her team described as a shake-up to prepare for the general election.
She has been trying to run as a centrist-type Democrat in her effort to appeal to Alaska’s famously maverick voters.
Peltola has a 2-percentage-point edge over Sen. Sullivan in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls in a hypothetical two-way matchup.
