Retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan secured a spot on Alaska’s November general election ballot for the U.S. Senate, joining incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola in one of the cycle’s most closely watched battlegrounds.
An unusual ballot complication is officially heading to Alaska’s general election election officials confirmed on Tuesday, as a retired school teacher and U.S. Forest Service employee with a nearly identical name as the sitting senator cleared the nonpartisan primary.
How the Three-Way Senate Race Shaped Up in Alaska
The state’s top four primary system ensures that former teacher Dan J. Sullivan will join Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola on the November ballot. In last week’s primary, Democrat Peltola captured more than 48% of the vote, while incumbent senator Sullivan won almost 43%. The similarly named challenger, Dan J. Sullivan, finished with 2.5% of the vote. With 85% of the ballots counted, the Associated Press reported that the two Sullivans and Peltola would appear alongside a fourth candidate yet to be announced.
The unusual candidate entry has sparked friction since he entered the race earlier this year. The incumbent senator has condemned his primary challenger as a sham
candidate running at the behest of Democrats to confuse his supporters and split their votes. Republicans have criticized the other Sullivan’s candidacy as a potential ploy to confuse voters in a key battleground race, which he has denied.
Backgrounds of the Candidates
Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan was first elected to the Senate in 2014, defeating a Democratic incumbent, and was re-elected in 2020. A former Marine, he has touted his work for veterans and the state’s fishing industry. Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is a former state legislator, city council member, and former U.S. House representative. She became the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress when she won a statewide special election in 2022 and then a full term months later. Peltola lost her seat after one term by 3 percentage points, running well ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket in 2024. Polls show Peltola is neck-and-neck with the incumbent in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 2008.
Legal and Political Fallout Over the Identical Names
The campaign rivalry has drawn scrutiny beyond the ballot box. State and federal prosecutors are investigating whether the candidacy of Dan J. Sullivan is part of a conspiracy to confuse voters. Federal investigators stepped up their inquiry when a grand jury issued subpoenas last week to compel information from witnesses related to the Dan J. Sullivan campaign, with a law enforcement official confirming the development to NBC News.
Legal challenges preceded Tuesday’s confirmation. State election officials disqualified Dan J. Sullivan from the election in June, but the state supreme court ordered him restored. The two were listed next to each other among the 16 candidates on primary ballots, but the senator had registered Republican
and “incumbent” next to his name, while his similarly named challenger was unadorned. Republicans and the senator’s campaign have criticized the candidate as a potential Democratic plant, noting that he only recently registered as a Republican and got help with his campaign launch from a Democratic consultant. The candidate told The New York Times that he registered as a Republican because his previous political party, the Alaska Independence Party, no longer exists, and he declined to detail his involvement with the Democratic consultant because of the ongoing investigation.
Ranked-Choice Voting Dynamics in a High-Stakes Battleground
Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system for general elections for congressional offices. This mechanism could blunt the impact of any confusion, allowing voters to rank both Sullivans on their ballots if they choose, with their votes likely to wind up going to the incumbent. However, some voters end up ranking only one candidate, which could matter in a close race — and Alaska’s Senate race could be one of the closest in the country this year.
Political observers note that Alaska’s all-party primary system advances the top four candidates regardless of party to a ranked-choice general election. Democrats have targeted Alaska as an opportunity to flip a seat since well before the same-name saga consumed the race, even though Donald Trump carried the state by double digits in each of the last three presidential elections. In addition to Alaska, Democratic leaders are seeking to win Senate seats from Republicans in North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Iowa, all of which voted for Donald Trump in 2024, while also hoping to pick up a seat in blue state Maine and defending Democratic-held seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire.
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