Washington — An Alaska U.S. Senate hopeful who shares the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan will not be allowed on the state’s primary ballot, according to a ruling issued Monday by an Alaska elections official, who said the candidacy appeared to be a calculated attempt to mislead voters.
The candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, said earlier this month that he planned to run against the incumbent senator, immediately creating confusion well before Alaska’s August primary and raising alarms among Republicans.
In a letter sent Monday, Elections Director Carol Beecher said the filing did not reflect “an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator.” Instead, she wrote, it was submitted “with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”
Beecher said Daniel J. Sullivan at one point attempted to file under the name “Dan Sullivan,” even though he had never used that version of his name when voting. She also said he sought to use “S” as his middle initial, matching the incumbent senator’s. In addition, she highlighted similarities between the two campaign websites, describing them as evidence of a deliberate effort to mimic Sen. Sullivan’s campaign.
Sen. Sullivan publicly raised the issue with reporters at the Capitol earlier this month, accusing Democrats of being “complicit in trying to trick Alaskans” in order to “rig an election in their favor.” At the same time, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Alaska Republicans were pressing for Daniel J. Sullivan to be kept off the ballot. Last week, Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom launched an investigation into the candidacy.
Beecher also noted that a political consultant working with Daniel J. Sullivan has connections to the Democratic Party and to former Rep. Mary Peltola, who is expected to challenge Sen. Sullivan as the Democratic candidate.
Daniel J. Sullivan has 30 days to appeal the decision.
The Alaska Senate race is expected to be among the most competitive of the cycle as Democrats look to flip the seat in their efforts to take control of the chamber. But it’s expected to be an uphill battle in a state that President Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
