Alaska election officials have determined that a second man named Dan Sullivan cannot run against the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in the high-stakes Senate race, citing efforts to mislead voters.
Background of the Case
A man named Dan Sullivan, legally Daniel J Sullivan Jr., filed to run as a Republican against the incumbent Senator Dan S Sullivan, also a Republican. Republicans filed complaints against the other Dan Sullivan, alleging coordination with a Democratic campaign to confuse voters.
The US Senate election in Alaska is seen as competitive and is a key target for Democrats seeking to regain control of the upper chamber. Former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola is expected to face incumbent Sullivan in November.
Alaska holds a non-partisan primary on 18 August, with the top four vote-getters advancing to the general election, which uses ranked-choice voting.
Election Director's Decision
In a letter to Daniel J Sullivan on Monday, Alaska elections director Carol Beecher wrote that the “utterly unprecedented facts” led her to conclude that his candidacy “was not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States senator, but was instead filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality”.
Beecher’s review raised several concerns: Sullivan did not typically use the nickname “Dan”; he had recently registered as a Republican; his campaign website resembled the other Dan Sullivan’s; and his campaign consultant was a longtime Democratic supporter, including of Peltola.
“I conclude that the preponderance of the evidence is that you chose this new nickname and party affiliation because that name and party affiliation happen to be the name and party affiliation of another candidate in the race,” Beecher wrote. Beecher is a Republican, and her office is overseen by Republican lieutenant governor Nancy Dahlstrom.
Response from Dan J Sullivan
Dan J Sullivan, a former teacher, previously told the New York Times that election officials were seeking to “protect an incumbent senator from facing competition at the ballot box” and denied coordinating with Peltola. Peltola’s campaign has also denied any coordination.
In a response to Beecher’s office, Dan J Sullivan said the National Republican Senatorial Committee was using “your office as a pawn to kick me off the ballot”. He stated he has long gone by Dan, registered as a Republican after his previous party disbanded, and includes photos of himself on his campaign website, noting he looks nothing like the more prominent Dan Sullivan.
“I am a qualified candidate who followed the rules and filed to run for office under my legal name,” Sullivan said in a campaign statement. He added: “The people of Alaska are fully capable of deciding for themselves who should represent them in Washington. If Senator Sullivan believes he has served Alaska well during his 12 years in office, he should make that case directly to voters. He should not rely on government officials or legal maneuvers to limit who can challenge him.”
Next Steps
Beecher noted that Dan J Sullivan can challenge the determination in court to try to appear on the ballot, though primary ballots are set to print on 28 June.
The Republican National Committee called Dan J Sullivan “Decoy Dan” and said his removal was a win for election integrity. “Alaskans can rest easy that their leaders will never tolerate blatant attempts to mislead voters and rig elections like Democrats’ Decoy Dan Scam,” RNC chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. “This is the right decision that will protect Alaskans from an unprecedented attack on our democracy.”
