Dan A. Sullivan, the former mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, endorsed Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska, for re-election in a race where one of the senator’s challengers is also a man named Dan Sullivan.
The challenger, a retired schoolteacher whose middle initial is J, has been accused by Republicans of entering the race to confuse voters and benefit the senator’s leading rival, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola.
“As the OG Dan Sullivan, I urge Alaskans to vote for Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan,” the former mayor wrote recently on Facebook.
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Previous Sullivan confusion
Challenger Sullivan survived an effort by the senator to have him removed from the ballot ahead of the state’s Aug. 11 jungle primary, where the top four vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party.
As Straight Arrow previously reported, challenger Sullivan’s campaign website was created the day he publicly announced his candidacy, and he declined to use variations of his name that would distinguish him from the senator. He did not use his middle initial, nor the suffix Jr. (his father, according to public statement, is also named Dan Sullivan).
How the race turned out
Challenger Sullivan was initially removed by state election officials, who said his sudden appearance and a campaign logo matching the senator’s were evidence he sought to confuse voters.
But after a court reinstated him, challenger Sullivan could advance to the general election alongside the senator, Peltola and one other candidate. The race, however, hasn’t been officially called.
November’s race is considered a toss-up and could help decide control of the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.
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