Sen. Dan Sullivan accuses same-named candidate of trying to confuse voters
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and GOP allies have accused Dan J. Sullivan, a candidate who shares the incumbent’s name and party affiliation, of being a sham candidate working with Democrats to confuse voters in the Aug. 18 primary. The senator raised the issue at the Capitol earlier this month, accusing Democrats of being “complicit in trying to trick Alaskans” to “rig an election in their favor.”
Dan J. Sullivan and the campaign of Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola — who is considered the senator’s main opponent — have denied that claim. The challenger has said his run for the seat is his own decision, not part of a coordinated effort to split votes.
A top state elections official, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, disqualified Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot, ruling that his bid was filed to confuse or mislead voters rather than as a good-faith candidacy. The Alaska Supreme Court later ordered that he be placed on the ballot after Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews overturned the disqualification and the high court affirmed that ruling, finding the Division of Elections had abused its discretion.
On Independence Day, as Sen. Sullivan and Peltola headlined parades across Alaska, Dan J. Sullivan spent the day on the sidelines in Petersburg, a small fishing community he has long called home. He said he did not want Independence Day celebrations to become about his candidacy.
“I didn’t want to turn it into something that was about me rather than about the celebration,” Dan J. Sullivan said.
The name-match controversy has injected a ballot-confusion dispute into a Senate race that could help determine control of the chamber. Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system adds complexity to voter decision-making in the primary, with two candidates sharing the same name and party affiliation appearing on the same ballot.